The New Year was approaching, and strings of small lanterns and Chinese knotted decorations had been hung up in major shopping malls for the holiday. Adults on annual leave took their children out to go shopping, and the pedestrian streets were crowded with people. Occasionally, there were one or two young couples holding hands and taking pictures in the falling snow.

Lu Qi and Mu Nanqiao exited a mall. This place was only ten minutes away from the community where they lived, so Mu Nanqiao didn’t drive, and they could walk back slowly while holding hands.

As soon as they walked out of the shopping mall, Mu Nanqiao pulled down the gray wool hat on Lu Qi’s head a couple of times to cover his ears. It was warm, but in this way, a beautiful fashion item turned into the style of a grandpa.

Lu Qi was dissatisfied, but he stayed calm and collected and gestured for Mu Nanqaio to lower his head. Then he stood on tiptoe and lifted the hood on the back of his jacket…..

The big fox smiled sweetly, but before the corners of his lips could even raise, his vision suddenly went dark.

Lu Qi had tugged hard on the drawstring of the hood and tightened it too far, leaving only Mu Nanqiao’s mouth and the tip of his nose exposed.

Having succeeded in his prank, Lu Qi laughed and ran away.

The blindfolded Mu Nanqiao smiled fondly, thinking that he really was spoiled.

They had come out this time to pick out gifts for Father Lu and Mother Lu. In the beginning, Lu Qi feared that rich and overbearing Boss Mu would take him directly into a luxury brand or jewelry store to buy his dad a pigeon egg ring or something, but Mu Nanqiao didn’t pick out these pricey things.

He carefully asked about Father Lu and Mother Lu’s hobbies, and in the end, chose medium to high-end gifts. For Mother Lu, there was a piece of Suzhou embroidery fabric and a colored jade bracelet, and for Father Lu, he chose two tins of tea leaves, as well as a tea pet toad holding tongbao in its mouth.^[1]

They were very thoughtful gifts, which could give people the sense of his feelings without being embarrassed by the price.

When Mu Nanqiao wanted others to like him, his emotional intelligence had always been very high.

The two people walked back through the snow. Mu Nanqiao held the gifts in one hand and Lu Qi’s hand in his pocket to keep him warm. As they walked, he turned his head and asked: “Which outfit do you think is better for me to wear tomorrow? Is a suit too formal? But casual wear…..”

Lu Qi gave him an amused look and shook his hand with curved eyes: “Boss Mu, are you particularly nervous, ah?”

Mu Nanqiao had not experienced this kind of nervousness in many years. These years, whether in his studies or in his career, it seemed that he had done everything with ease. Only this year had he experienced such a thing more often, all because of Lu Qi.

“I’m a little nervous.” He nodded very calmly. Looking down at Lu Qi, he was filled with tenderness. “Your parents are also your favorite people, and I want to gain their approval.”

“Don’t worry.” Lu Qi took his warm hand out of his pocket and held Mu Nanqiao’s face, caressing it. “My mom has accepted that I like boys. How could she not be satisfied with you? In the eyes of most mothers, Boss Mu is the most suitable son-in-law. En…..change the gender, and you would be a perfect match for a daughter-in-law.”

“Perhaps I’m still not good enough quality?” Mu Nanqiao grabbed his hand with a sigh and rubbed it, raising his eyebrows as he joked, “After all, I can’t give birth to children.”

“Wa!” Lu Qi’s eyes went wide in surprise. “Boss Mu still has this ambition. But how will you know if you don’t try? Since you put me on top this morning, maybe Boss Mu will get pregnant! When the time comes, you will have a son. My mom will definitely….ai, ai, ai…..”

He was picked up by Mu Nanqiao. The snowy road was slippery, so he leaned against Mu Nanqiao’s shoulder and didn’t dare to struggle too much. Fortunately, it was getting late now and there were not many people in the community, only a few children building snowmen on the other side of the green belt. When they heard the sound and looked over, Lu Qi quickly picked up his scarf and tightly covered his face.

Ah! Shameful!

Looking back at Mu Nanqiao, there was no superfluous expression on his handsome and flamboyant face. As calmly as if he was carrying a gas canister, he took two long strides up the steps, passed through the entrance lobby, and directly entered the elevator.

This elevator was exclusively for the top floor, so as soon as they got on the elevator, they were in the private area of their own home. Lu Qi pulled down his scarf and took a breath.

“Speak politely, why are you taking liberties?” He smacked Mu Nanqiao’s back and struggled a bit. “Hurry and put me down.”

Mu Nanqiao smacked his butt through his winter pants. It didn’t hurt, but the shame practically had Lu Qi’s head smoking. He exclaimed in a shy voice: “Mu Nanqiao!”

He was obviously heavy! How could this person just pick him up and run off?! Was this the terrifying racial talent of the fighting nation?!

“That’s me.” The big fox was surprisingly thick-skinned. Not only did he not let go, but he even pinched him twice. “I was just thinking, a shotgun wedding is indeed an idea. Honey, let’s go back and give it a try. If you have a little Lu cub, even if Mother-in-law doesn’t like me, she’ll have to let me in the door.”

“You’re dreaming.” Lu Qi scoffed. “If you behave like a scumbag, my dad will break your legs. He would rather raise a grandchild by himself than let his son…..”

Ah, right, he was male.

Lu Qi’s ears felt hot, and he kicked his legs hard twice. “Mu Nanqiao, what are you talking about? I also can’t give birth.”

After all, he was an adult man nearly 1.8 meters tall. He struggled, and Mu Nanqiao finally couldn’t carry him anymore. He bent to put this person down, leaning against the light rose gold wall of the elevator.

“How will you know if you don’t try?” Smiling, he responded with what Lu Qi had said before. Lu Qi was speechless for a moment. Mu Nanqiao pinched his cheek and kissed him over and over, then bit his ear and whispered: “Want to try?”

“No, go away!” Lu Qi pushed him and turned around to get off the elevator first. He swiped his fingerprints angrily to open the door and shut Mu Nanqiao outside with a bang.

The big fox was just talking. He was afraid that Lu Qi would feel uncomfortable afterwards, so he had never done anything like this before. This time, he had really made him angry.

Boss Mu rubbed the tip of his nose, which was nearly smacked. He opened the door dejectedly and went in to coax this person.

. . . . . . .

It was already evening when they arrived in Yuncheng. They left the train station and took a taxi to the house.

There was no elevator in the building, and the environment was a bit like the garden community. Lu Qi led the way, climbing to the third floor. He stopped at the door and looked back at Mu Nanqiao.

Boss Mu was wearing a white turtleneck sweater with a black woolen coat on the outside, not overly serious, but somewhat gentle and reliable. As he stood at the foot of the steps and looked up at him, there was a slight smile on his features.

“What’s wrong?” He asked Lu Qi softly.

“Nothing…..” Lu Qi took a deep breath and whispered: “It’s like a dream come true. The people I love accept my loved one. It’s really the best New Year’s gift.”

Mu Nanqiao walked up two steps and lowered his head to kiss him on the cheek. “Next year’s gift…..”

Click—

The door opened. Along with the aroma of food, Lin Chunhe’s voice was as jubilant as a bell: “What do you two kids want to drink? I’ll bring them from the store…..aiyo!”

He was startled by the two grown men at the door, and his amazement turned to pleasant surprise when he saw his son. Then he clearly saw the intimate posture of the two and his surprise became embarrassment.

Bang—

The door closed, and Lin Chunhe said loudly: “I didn’t see anything!”

Lu Qi: ……

Mu Nanqiao: ……

Inside the house, Lu Fangshu came out of the kitchen wearing an apron and asked: “What didn’t you see?”

“Shhh…..” Lin Chunhe ran over in small steps and approached his wife’s ear furtively: “He really brought back a boy!”

Lu Fangshu’s expression was a bit complicated, but she still asked curiously: “What kind of child is he, ah?”

“I didn’t see clearly…..” Lin Chunhe scratched his head and stretched out his hand to compare: “But he’s extremely tall! Almost a head taller than our baby!”

When he finished speaking, the two of them fell silent together.

In fact, the two of them had seen a photo of Mu Nanqiao during the days when the TV station was repeatedly broadcasting Talia’s interview. The man was more handsome and elegant than a star. But in the photo, he was holding the back of the sofa and leaning over, so it wasn’t apparent that he was that tall.

Lu Fangshu asked: “Is he really as handsome as in the photo?”

Lin Chunhe: “I didn’t see clearly, ah.”

The two exchanged glances, then looked simultaneously at the silent door.

Outside the door, Lu Qi coughed and asked Mu Nanqiao with a blushing face: “Then I’ll knock on the door.”

This first meeting was so unexpected that even the calm and thick-skinned Boss Mu blushed a little. He coughed awkwardly and gave a solemn nod: “Knock on the door.”

After two knocks, the door opened. Lin Chunhe opened it with a smile, as if he was just meeting the two people at the door, and greeted them with kind politeness: “Xiao Mu is here. Haha, come in quickly.”

Mu Nanqiao called him ‘Uncle’ and went inside the house to change his shoes. Once he put on his slippers, Lu Fangshu also took off her apron and walked over. The room had enough light for the couple to finally get a clear view of Mu Nanqiao’s face.

When he looked at the photo before, Lin Chunhe had wondered if it had been retouched. How could anyone be so handsome? Lu Fangshu had seen the elegant Talia and the cultured Mu Chuanbai, and felt that it was not excessive for this young man to look like the one in the photo.

When the real person stood in front of her, only then did she realize that the photo actually didn’t do him justice.

“Aiyo, what a big child…..” Lin Chunhe was smiling so hard that he couldn’t even close his mouth. “But he’s so handsome. You’re here for the first time, why did you bring gifts?”

Lu Fangshu also came up to greet him, smiling warmly. “Put your things down quickly, come in and wash your hands and eat. I cooked all homemade dishes, you see if you like them.”

Mu Nanqiao stayed calm and collected, and breathed a sigh of relief. “We’ll trouble you, Auntie. I’ll eat more later.”

It was only at this moment, when he looked at the warm smile on his mom’s face, that Lu Qi finally realized that he had really brought his boyfriend home to show his family.

He squeezed out from behind Mu Nanqiao and said coquettishly: “Dad, Mom, do you think he’s more handsome than me, ah? You haven’t looked at me since I walked in.”

They didn’t know how long it had been since they had heard their son talk to them in such a natural tone. Finally, the situation between mother and son was no longer tense. Lu Fangshu’s eyes reddened. She grabbed Lu Qi and lightly smacked him on the shoulder. 

“You still have the nerve to talk…..” She whispered softly: “Heartless little brat…..”

Raising her hand to pinch her son’s face, she said, “You’ve gained a lot of weight. It’s better to be fatter.”

Lu Qi blinked his eyes, leaning down to let his mom knead him. He didn’t forget to say good things for Mu Nanqiao: “You don’t know, Mom, but his cooking is delicious, and he also drags me to run and box. I’m not puffy now, I have muscles!”

As he spoke, he took off his coat and lifted up his sweater. He patted his belly, inhaled, and revealed the outline of a 4-pack.

“Aiyo, do you want to die? Be careful not to catch a cold.” Lu Fangshu patted his belly and pulled down his clothes, turning to look at Mu Nanqiao. “Okay, Xiao Mu, stop standing at the door, let’s go in to eat and talk.”

She could see that her son was well taken care of, and the small knot in her heart also lifted. During the meal, she frequently served Mu Nanqiao food. Thinking about what it would be like to have a daughter-in-law come to the house, it wasn’t awkward to do so.

After dinner, Mu Nanqiao and Lu Qi washed dishes together while Lu Fangshu and Lin Chunhe watched TV outside.

Lu Qi was in a very good mood, and the smile in his eyes never faded from beginning to end. They were ostensibly washing dishes together, but he barely moved a hand as he hugged Mu Nanqiao from behind like a little koala.

On the other hand, Mu Nanqiao restrained himself a lot in someone else’s home, and even asked in a whisper: “Baby, won’t it be bad if Uncle and Auntie see you?”

“You can actually be embarrassed…..” Lu Qi smiled evilly. He knew the structure of the house, and after making sure his parents couldn’t see them, he stood on tiptoe and kissed Mu Nanqiao on the cheek. “You really know how to be serious, ah, Boss Mu.”

Mu Nanqiao gave him a deep look, but held back and continued to wash the dishes.

Lu Qi thought, his parents were home, and his bedroom was so close to theirs. Mu Nanqiao must be too embarrassed to do anything. Thus, he smiled and reached out to poke Boss Mu’s pert buttocks several times.

Mu Nanqiao: ……

He secretly grinded his back teeth, already thinking about how to deal with Lu Qi when they went back.

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[1] Tea pets (茶宠) are ceramic figures kept on a tea tray for good luck. You pour tea over them, and over time, they change color and gain the scent of tea. ⮐

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Chapter Fifty-Three << Table of Contents >> Chapter Fifty-Five

She seems to have participated in some kind of social event today. I see that she is wearing dark red lipstick. Her long black dress hangs down to her calves, and she is wearing a pair of high heels in the same color.

After entering the door, she takes off her thin black gloves and hands them to the auntie. Her painted eyes look at me from under long eyelashes. The eyeliner at the ends of her eyes is dark, and there is no expression on her face.

I don’t know if it’s an illusion, but I sometimes think that her temperament is becoming more and more like Mingcheng’s. And since she began practicing sports, her body shape has become much taller than that of an average woman. As the two people gradually overlapped in appearance and temperament, there was an indescribable feeling.

“Why did you remember to come to me today? If it’s to thank me for taking care of you for a day, that’s not necessary.”

She raises a corner of her mouth in what I’m not sure is a smile, but even if she is smiling, it probably isn’t a good smile.

But it doesn’t bother me. She cares about me, but for some unknown reason, she doesn’t want to talk to me properly.

I want to get straight to the point, but with the auntie here, I can’t say it directly. My hesitant appearance probably catches her eye. She regards me expressionlessly for a moment, then turns to the auntie and says: “You can leave work for today, don’t worry about us.”

After the auntie leaves, I intend to say something to her, but she stops me frankly: “I know that when you open your mouth, it’s going to be about my brother again. Don’t upset me after I worked all day.”

She goes to the wine cabinet and selects a bottle of white, then takes a glass and hands it to me with a slight smile. “Since you’re here, have a few drinks with me first.”

All of the children in the family are tall. Mingcheng is half a head taller than me, and Mingyi’s height is pretty much equal to mine. She might still be taller than me after playing sports for many years, but I won’t admit it.

She doesn’t change her shoes. Standing before me in high heels, she is obviously a little taller than me, a man.

When I’m with her, I often doubt my 1.8 meter height.

She pours wine into my glass and into another for herself.

The clear liquid flows over transparent glass. It has a light sweetness, a good drink for nighttime.

About an hour later, Mingyi and I are sitting at the long table in the parlor. I sit at one end and she sits at the other.

The lipstick on her lips has been diluted by the wine, with part of it remaining on the glass. Because she is sitting, her long dress touches the floor.

Seeing the change in her expression, I get up and walk to her side. I warn her: “Mingyi, you’re drunk.”

She tries to pour herself wine, so I raise my hand with a frown and cover the mouth of the bottle.

Wine drips from my fingers. She lowers her eyes for a moment, then slowly raises her eyelashes to look at me from below them. Suddenly, she smiles: “You’re still so considerate.”

I think her tone of voice is a little strange, but I don’t take it to heart. She is obviously drunk, and I can’t talk to her like this, so I move to help her stand up and go rest.

But she grabs my wrist and surreptitiously uses her strength to make me bend down and look up at her.

“Mingyi?”

I am yanked due to her sudden movement. Placing one hand on the table beside her to steady myself, I call out to her. 

She frowns as if suddenly waking up, and pushes me away again.

The sea breeze blows at night. It gusts through the open window, causing the lilies of the valley beside the window to sway with the wind.

Mingyi’s medium-length hair is also blown a bit. She drinks the rest of the wine and says abruptly: “I know why you came. It’s for Mingcheng. Your mom said that you think my brother is possessed, haha. She’s incredulous. She thinks you’re crazy. But actually, I think you’re crazy too.”

I never expected that my mom is so familiar with Mingyi. Mingyi knows what I had said to her just this morning. I want to explain that I’m not crazy, but she laughs and shakes her head.

“You don’t need to explain. In fact, from the time you told me that you intended to get married, I thought you were crazy. But now that I think about it, life is so absurd. My brother is a liar. You love him and became crazy. You two are made for each other.”

“Mingyi!”

Crazy. Liar. Her words make me confused and a little hurt at the same time.

Is this what Mingcheng and I are in her heart?

I look at Mingyi for a moment and realize all at once that she is really not the little girl she was in her childhood. She has grown up to be tall and cold, and I can’t see through her anymore.

I glance at the sky outside with some disappointment, feeling powerless in the face of unpredictable destiny.

We fall silent together.

After a while, I stand up and say goodbye to her: “I’m leaving first. I’ll come see you again when I have the time. Don’t…..drink so much wine again.”

I pick up my jacket and walk to the entrance to put on my shoes.

“A-Zhen-gege!” At this moment, she suddenly comes over with quick steps and calls out to me.

She hasn’t called me that in many years. I’m dazed for a moment, and feel a little sad. I turn around to look at her. “Mingyi?”

There are no lights on in the room, so as I watch her walk toward me, her long black dress seems to blend into the night.

She walks in front of me and suddenly hugs me hard.

We hugged like this many times when we were kids, but now that we are grown up and no longer children, this makes me stiffen a little.

“A-Zhen,” she says in my ear. Her nose seems a little stuffy. The mature mezzo-soprano tone is steady, but with a slight nasal sound, a bit raspy. “Let yourself go. Why must you turn yourself into this for my brother? He doesn’t deserve it at all.”

“He is your brother, Mingyi! Even if you hate him, he is a good person! Now that I suspect something has happened to him, aren’t you worried?” I hold her shoulders and push her some distance away, looking at her in disbelief. I don’t understand how she can be so heartless.

They are relatives connected by blood, and Mingcheng has never done anything to apologize to her for.

I can’t seem to recognize her anymore.

She laughs deeply. Her mouth is smiling, but her eyes conceal her real feelings. “You’re the only one who thinks he’s a good person! I already said he’s a liar, a pathological and selfish liar. He has just toyed with you and deceived you for half your life, and also made me miserable.”

“A-Zhen, we have both been hurt by him.”

I keenly notice the sliver of madness in her eyes, and feel that she’s not in the right state of mind. Pushing her away, I take a few steps back. “Mingyi, you’re tired…..”

I try to turn around and leave, but she suddenly embraces me from behind. We are about the same height. I am a sickly man, and she is a tall woman. Because she practices sports all year round, the contours of her arm muscles are no worse than mine. I don’t dare push her hard, afraid of hurting her, so I am momentarily restricted by her.

In my ear, her hot, moist breath puffs out from bright red lips. I tilt my head slightly and see a faint smile on her cold face. 

There is a hint of silk in Mingyi’s voice: “You love him, but it’s better to love me. A person must know how to weigh the pros and cons. You see, at least I won’t lie to you. I’ll tell you whatever you want to know.”

My face darkens. Her words tonight have touched my bottom line. I can fool myself into thinking she’s just drunk, but I don’t want to say anything more to her. I hold her wrists with slight force, trying to rip her off of me.

But suddenly, something soft and wet seems to come in contact with the side of my face. She sticks her head over to look at my face, her mid-length hair falling over my shoulders.

“Do you only like my brother’s type? Am I not like him? Why do you reject me again and again?”

“Oh, I see.” She seems to come to a sudden realization, and her eyes bend in a smile. A pair of eyes very similar to Mingcheng’s blaze with a scarlet light. Raw, sharp, thick and heavy with madness. 

“I could totally role play……a character like my brother, if that’s what you’re into.”

She says this in a very suggestive tone. I don’t understand what she means for a moment until I meet her predatory gaze.

In fact, I have seen this look in the eyes of many people. Even Mingcheng looked at me like this sometimes…..

I suddenly understand what she means. As though I’ve been struck by five thunderbolts, my eyes slowly widen and my whole body freezes in place.

After a moment, I hear my own questioning voice, dismayed and a little sharp.

“Are you crazy?!”

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Chapter 16 << Table of Contents >> Chapter 18

For someone who practiced martial arts, this right hand was basically useless.

Liu Zhenqing’s face was solemn, and he held Song Xingmu’s wrist tightly.

Song Xingmu shook his head and his glass earrings swayed, reflecting the light.

“It’s because my skills are inferior to others.”

Liu Zhenqing raised his eyes and looked at Song Xingmu expressionlessly.

Song Xingmu said with an uncomfortable look on his face: “I went to the capital to collect a person’s body, but failed.”

Back then, Song Xingmu was still pursuing pirates at sea, and as soon as he got off the ship, he received a message. It was from Bai Yu, Liu Zhenqing’s right-hand man.

Song Xingmu couldn’t believe it. He heard that his good brother Liu Zhenqing had passed away several days before, and that Bai Yu had sent this letter to ask him to help collect evidence that Prime Minister Liu, whom the world reviled, was not actually like this. Before Song Xingmu had time to think, he heard that something had happened to Bai Yu, and Liu Zhenqing’s body had been buried indiscriminately.

No longer caring about anything else, he rushed to the capital. He wanted to at least…..at least collect the body of his brother. 

But at that time, Liu Zhenqing’s body had just been buried and many people from the Jinyiwei and Dongchang set up an ambush beside the grave. They were ordered to capture the so-called “treacherous minister’s” accomplices. Naturally, a graveside ambush was the most effective.

“Why did you act impulsively!” Liu Zhenqing said in disbelief.

Song Xingmu raised his eyebrows and said: “I thought I could do it. My martial arts skills were not inferior to Huo Feihan’s at that time.”

In fact, he knew there was an ambush and that it was too risky, but…..everyone could spurn Liu Zhenqing’s tombstone in broad daylight, when it was obviously he who had broken every inch of his own bones to support Great Zhou’s pride. How could he tolerate his brother staying there any longer? Those scenes made his eyes redden, and he had to take away the body even if he died.

“But you were still beaten badly.” Yi Chuan revealed this news mercilessly.

“You went too?” Liu Zhenqing said in surprise.

Yi Chuan nodded and said: “I was studying in the mountains at that time, and incidentally heard about Prime Minister Liu. I looked for him when I came out, but he had run away on his own, and I had no choice but to rush to the capital to find him. He was half dead when I arrived. If he hadn’t met a skilled doctor, he would have died. At the end of the treatment, only his hand was disabled, but it was only a year later that he had the energy to get out of bed. And I heard at that time…..”

Yi Chuan glanced at Huo Fenglie and stopped talking.

Song Xingmu understated it, but Yi Chuan supplemented it.

Liu Zhenqing frowned and was about to speak, but Song Xingmu promptly changed the subject and said: “By the way, it wasn’t only me at that time.”

Liu Zhenqing was taken aback.

“Liu Qiao also came back.” Song Xingmu directly gave Liu Zhenqing a piece of news.

Shocked, Liu Zhenqing said: “Liu Qiao?! He’s still alive?”

Song Xingmu said: “We separated eight years ago, and after so many years, I don’t know about his situation. We met there by chance and started working together. His martial arts skills are better than mine, and if he hadn’t taken me with him in the end, we wouldn’t have been able to escape. When we recovered from our injuries and intended to go back, we heard the news. I asked him what was going to happen next. He said that he still had unfinished tasks he had to complete, and he left.”

Liu Zhenqing fell silent.

Liu Qiao, the slave he bought, came with a broken piece of jade with the character “Qiao” on it. Because the slave had no name, Liu Zhenqing gave him the surname Liu and the first name Qiao.

Liu Qiao had been bought and sold as a slave since childhood. At that time, Liu Zhenqing had just become Prime Minister Liu and wanted a loyal bodyguard who could help him easily in the future. When Huo Feihan accompanied him to find a suitable candidate, he met Liu Qiao by chance.

Huo Feihan had never praised another’s character like this, not to mention their natural power, so he bought Liu Qiao. He was taught how to read and practice martial arts, and it turned out that Huo Feihan’s judgment was correct. Liu Qiao was a martial arts genius, and within a year, he came to work as a guard by his side. Although he was a bit reticent, he obeyed orders and acted quickly and accurately. He was already considered a master when he first became a guard, and continued to improve in the following years, like a wall of copper and iron protecting Liu Zhenqing. Except when he was sent out to do things, no matter how many assassinations there were, Liu Zhenqing never suffered any harm.

Thus, Prime Minister Liu had Bai Yu and Liu Qiao as his right and left hands.

After rebirth, Liu Zhenqing didn’t dare to think about him. When he found Bai Yu, he could only pray in his heart that everything would be fine with him.

But regarding Liu Qiao’s whereabouts, Liu Zhenqing also didn’t know, because he had told Liu Qiao before leaving that he should go as far away as he could and not tell him where he intended to go after completing the mission.

Liu Qiao was frightened at that time, thinking that Liu Zhenqing didn’t want him anymore, so he knelt and refused to move. Liu Zhenqing could only agree that when he finished his mission, he could return to him as a guard.

As for that mission, Liu Zhenqing could not give it to just anyone. Only Liu Qiao could do it…..

Huo Fenglie saw that Liu Zhenqing was distracted, so he asked: “How was he recovering from his injuries when he left?”

Yi Chuan said: “He had basically recovered. There were no hidden dangers left on his body.”

“That kid’s martial arts are really good,” Song Xingmu said with a sigh.

Liu Zhenqing couldn’t help but let out a breath. Thank you. I’m sorry. These words pressed on his heart, but saying them would only insult the other party’s friendship, so he had to lower his head and focus on Song Xingmu’s injury.

“When things are completed here, you can make arrangements to go to the Medical Valley with us,” Liu Zhenqing said in a deep voice.

Song Xingmu was about to open his mouth.

“You must go,” Liu Zhenqing said directly.

Song Xingmu said no more.

“So the sudden change in your military power was because the emperor found out you were going…..” Liu Zhenqing asked.

“I’m also not very clear. Those people may not have known who I was. Although I am indeed dissatisfied with the current emperor, and it is fair to say that I left my post without authorization. News would certainly spread out from the navy. I deserved to be punished, and I couldn’t lead the navy while recuperating for a year. Just asking me to come back…..the emperor’s heart is unpredictable. Tell me, what does he mean?”

Liu Zhenqing was silent for a moment, and then said: “As you say, the emperor’s heart is unpredictable.”

Perhaps Yuan Jue knew something was wrong here and had to bring Song Xingmu back. Otherwise, the timing was too coincidental. And he also saw Song Xingmu’s strength, and could not waste such a naval officer. He needed such a person to guard the waters of the Great Zhou Dynasty for him. 

That night, Song Xingmu wanted to send Liu Zhenqing back to the inn.

“No need,” Liu Zhenqing said.

Song Xingmu teased: “Can this be done? You are my wife. It would be inappropriate for me not to escort you there.”

When Yi Chuan on the side heard this, his eyes widened in shock, while Huo Fenglie, who was about to become invisible, glanced over with cold eyes.

“Just arrange a carriage to take me back. There is no reason for Fenglie to go with me and hide in the shadows,” Liu Zhenqing said.

Huo Fenglie looked at Liu Zhenqing.

Song Xingmu raised his eyebrows. “It seems you have a purpose. Casting bait?”

Liu Zhenqing nodded: “I’m curious, so I’ll give it a try.”

Soon after, Song Xingmu led his people to the water village. He arranged a carriage and groom and looked reluctant to leave, waving his hand in farewell with a posture reminiscent of bidding goodbye to a loved one.

Until the carriage left, Song Xingmu remained looking into the distance infatuatedly.

“Hey, you don’t really have feelings for him, right?” Yi Chuan said suddenly.

Song Xingmu looked back at Yi Chuan with a smile and said: “Yo, are you jealous?”

Yi Chuan said with a frown: “Are you going to fight General Huo?”

“Ah?” Song Xingmu glanced at Yi Chuan in surprise.

Yi Chuan said: “Although Young Master Liu said before that General Huo likes Prime Minister Liu, I think that the general likes the current Young Master Liu.”

Song Xingmu almost choked to death on his own saliva. “You’ve seen it all?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” Yi Chuan said matter-of-factly.

Song Xingmu was very amused. “Yes, ah, it is obvious, but don’t you hate men being together? You are even gossiping about such things.”

Yi Chuan glared at Song Xingmu unhappily. He hated it not because of discrimination, but because of what happened to his brother at home, and couldn’t bear it psychologically.

“Don’t worry, he and I are brothers,” Song Xingmu said with a smile.

Yi Chuan complained: “You said before that you and Prime Minister Liu were brothers, and you didn’t like him. Although you are a playboy on the surface, in fact…..”

Song Xingmu quickly stopped him, saying in disbelief: “What are you saying? How did you get this misunderstanding?”

“Isn’t it possible that you can like a man? Prime Minister Liu was so good-looking, and you were willing to die for him.”

The corners of Song Xingmu’s mouth twitched. “I don’t. And…..leaving aside everything else for now, was Liu Zhenqing better-looking than me?”

Yi Chuan nodded.

Song Xingmu became petty and said at once: “I wonder who it was who fell in love with me at first sight. It wasn’t Liu Zhenqing. And that person wanted to marry me, and forcibly kissed me…..”

Yi Chuan was instantly infuriated. He covered his ears and ran away.

. . . . . . .

The carriage swayed away from the water village. Before it could get out of the navy’s guarding range, it suddenly stopped.

Liu Zhenqing closed his eyes in repose, predicting what would happen next.

A weak young master who held a place in Song Xingmu’s heart, and who even appeared with him at the scene of arrest and at the water prison, was very suitable for testing, tricking, threatening, or hijacking.

“Who is in the carriage?”

“Answering the official, he is the friend of Captain Song.”

Listening to this conversation, he couldn’t say he was surprised. The person who had come was probably Zhao Haicheng.

He wondered if he could catch this big fish.

He heard Zhao Haicheng say below: “Since he is Captain Song’s distinguished guest, and this night is restless, he cannot be sent away in such a simple manner.”

Then he knocked on the carriage wall. “Young Master, this is Zhao Haicheng. We have met before. I happen to be going to the streets, so you might as well let me see you off. It is safer this way.”

“Then I will trouble Lieutenant General Zhao,” Liu Zhenqing said calmly.

His words had just fallen when the carriage shook, and a tall figure opened the carriage curtain and got in.

Liu Zhenqing greeted him with a smile, and Zhao Haicheng was polite and courteous. But the carriage suddenly shook again, nearly causing Zhao Haicheng to fall over.

Zhao Haicheng said in a deep voice through the carriage curtain next to him: “Be careful with the horses. Don’t scare the guest.”

“Understood. I don’t know what happened…..”

The carriage began to move slowly.

Zhao Haicheng didn’t think much about it, and sat down directly.

But Liu Zhenqing leaned against the carriage wall with the corners of his mouth raised. Zhao Haicheng before him was stunned for a moment.

There was a slight knocking sound through the wooden boards. The sound was masked by the rolling wheels, but Liu Zhenqing could feel the vibration. It was obvious that Huo Fenglie was no longer willing to protect him from a distance and was sitting on the back of the carriage, always on guard.

“Young Master…..” Zhao Haicheng said, “I don’t know what to call you?”

Liu Zhenqing didn’t expect that Zhao Haicheng would say such…..ordinary greetings after coming in.

“I’m…..” Liu Zhenqing skewed his eyes. The surname Liu was still too taboo. He smiled and said: “My surname is Huo.”

Zhao Haicheng was startled. After all, Huo was such a famous surname and brought to mind the general guarding the country.

“Could it be the Huo family from the city…..”

Liu Zhenqing waved his hand and said: “No, it’s just a coincidence. You are talking about the general’s Huo family, right? They are all warriors and I am a scholar…..and I come from the Southern Islands.”

Zhao Haicheng nodded, feeling that this was so. He said: “It seems that Young Master Huo met our Captain Song in the Southern Islands. Are you here to visit friends?”

Liu Zhenqing looked at Zhao Haicheng with some surprise. Did Zhao Haicheng not realize that he and Song Xingmu were not a couple? That playacting was not in vain. Thus, he deliberately adopted a shy posture and said: “Captain Song is not young anymore, so I thought…..”

Zhao Haicheng was taken aback upon hearing this. His expression changed, and he said: “Has Young Master Huo never heard about Captain Song? I see that Young Master Huo appears to be a relatively pure scholar, so I would like to warn you. Everyone here knows that Captain Song does not discriminate between men and women, loves the new and hates the old, and is not very loyal emotionally. If Young Master Huo wants a good companion, Captain Song is definitely no good.”

When Zhao Haicheng finished speaking, Liu Zhenqing was dumbfounded.

Not asking questions or using pretensions, how did it turn into persuasion? What kind of routine was this? Liu Zhenqing’s brain was running fast, but he couldn’t understand it.

Could it be that Zhao Haicheng simply hated Song Xingmu and couldn’t stand his behavior, or perhaps someone in his family was let down by Song Xingmu, so he was against him at all times? Was he overthinking it?

Wait, it seemed that there was no need to be so kind to a stranger.

Liu Zhenqing stared in confusion at Zhao Haicheng for a moment, but Zhao Haicheng’s staunch look at the beginning turned into involuntarily avoiding his gaze in the end.

Liu Zhenqing was immediately alarmed. 

Had Zhao Haicheng fallen in love with him?

He was speechless for a moment. What kind of fish had he caught, ah?

Now Liu Zhenqing knew why Zhao Haicheng had looked at him several times. Whatever, he had no interest in talking anymore.

“Thank you, Lieutenant General Zhao, for warning me. I already know this.”

When Zhao Haicheng heard this, he immediately looked at Liu Zhenqing with displeasure, as if beholding an incompetent love-brained fool.

But it seemed that Zhao Haicheng truly wanted to persuade him. “Young Master Huo, why are you so stubborn? You will be hurt.”

Liu Zhenqing sneered internally and said: “I’m not trying to choose a man to spend my life with, I just want to choose a hero, especially a hero who protects his family and country. Even if he is fickle, at least he is loyal to Great Zhou. Being responsible for the common people and keeping the territory safe is enough to cover up all of his shortcomings.”

Zhao Haicheng was stunned upon hearing this. It was unknown if he was stunned by Liu Zhenqing’s way of thinking or having been unintentionally ridiculed. In any case, his expression did not look very good.

If you dare to talk about my friend, you can’t blame me for being a bully.

Liu Zhenqing smiled and said: “Lieutenant General Zhao, don’t you think Captain Song is a hero? How many pirates has he eradicated, and how many common people of Great Zhou has he protected? He is better than those men who are clearly of Great Zhou but collude with pirates for their selfish desires. How could I not admire such a man?”

Zhao Haicheng seemed unable to listen, saying: “He has performed meritorious deeds, but there are also many sins.”

Liu Zhenqing stared blankly: “What? Lieutenant General Zhao must have some sort of misunderstanding, right? Captain Song has never harmed the common people of Great Zhou, and even if his hands are stained with blood, it is for the sake of the Great Zhou Dynasty.”

Seemingly suppressing his anger, Zhao Haicheng said: “Young Master Huo is indeed too naive. He collaborated with Liu Zhenqing, the treacherous minister who harmed the country and the common people, and killed a lot of Great Zhou’s people.”

Liu Zhenqing silently regarded Zhao Haicheng. Recalling that he had been the one to go to the capital to complain, he couldn’t help but chuckle: “I heard they had a bad relationship.”

“He is the one who left his post without permission in order to collect Liu Zhenqing’s body. How could their relationship be bad? It is only that outsiders don’t know the truth and spread rumors.”

Liu Zhenqing was taken aback. He knew of this?

“Although he was wrong, the circumstances are excusable. Did he cause serious problems when he left his post without permission?” Liu Zhenqing couldn’t help but analyze Zhao Haicheng’s reaction.

But he had heard Yi Chuan and others speak of it before. The reason why the emperor did not punish him severely was because although he left his post without authorization and the handover was chaotic, he didn’t cause any trouble to others. Therefore, the emperor only gave him a small punishment with a warning, otherwise the crime would have been punishable by death.

There were frequent pirate attacks. All the attacks during that period could not be blamed on Song Xingmu, and even if he was here, the attacks would have still occurred.

“Is your family…..” Liu Zhenqing probed.

Zhao Haicheng quickly returned to normal and said with a smile: “I just feel sorry for the common people. Not to mention anything else, just based on the fact that he and the traitor Liu Zhenqing were good brothers, I think Young Master Huo is doing himself a disservice.”

The corners of Liu Zhenqing’s mouth twitched. He had really become synonymous with certain unremovable stains. But it was amusing to think that this fellow was interested in him while cursing him to his face.

Liu Zhenqing really couldn’t figure out if this fellow was just following public opinion or not. Or was it that he had been implicated and hurt by some of the things he had done, so he hated him to this extent? But he remembered that in this region, he had only fought against pirates, ah.

Liu Zhenqing: “You hate Liu Zhenqing? For what reason?”

Zhao Haicheng looked up at Liu Zhenqing and found that his expression was gentle, as if he cared. Unable to avoid being affected by it, some true emotion leaked out: “There are so many people in the world who hate him. He has done many evil things, so no reason is needed.”

Even though Zhao Haicheng didn’t say it, Liu Zhenqing still saw the deep hatred in his eyes.

It seemed that it was truly not an ordinary reason, nor was he following the crowd.

“Did you meet him?” Liu Zhenqing asked casually.

Zhao Haicheng’s eyes were empty. Then he said with an ugly expression: “Why are you asking this?”

“You’re the lieutenant general. I thought you must have met him in person, and I’m a little curious.”

“I would rather never meet that kind of evil person.”

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Chapter Eighty-Three << Table of Contents >> Chapter Eighty-Five

There is a big commotion over the matter of the house fire. 

I stay in the hospital for several days due to the excessive stress and respiratory damage caused by the fire, and my family comes during this period, including Mingyi.

When I wake up, it is already a day later. My mother is sitting next to me, wearing only house clothes and a thin jacket.

She has always paid attention to dignity and would never disgrace herself before others, so at first glance, I know that she had rushed here overnight when she was notified and gave no thought to changing clothes.

My eyes sting and I am about to call out to her, but she immediately notices I’m awake. A pair of gentle eyes redden at once, and she lays on top of me crying.

“A-Zhen, why are you so unlucky? It’s all because Mom is no good…..”

She sobs on me with no care for her image, and I am also very sad.

I want to comfort her, but I don’t have the energy.

The movement in the ward attracts the attention of people outside. The door opens and my older brother walks in urgently, eyes reddening when he sees me.

Behind him, I see Mingyi and Dr. Zhao.

Dr. Zhao is holding some sheets of paper, and looks a little tired. When he sees me awake, his eyes light up and he enters the ward.

They surround me, but Mingyi only looks at me from afar. She lowers her eyes and leaves. As she walks into the hallway dressed in dark gray, her tall figure looks lonely. I try to call out to her, but can’t make a sound.

My older brother comforts my mother and tells her to eat breakfast, but she refuses to eat, insisting on helping me drink some soup.

I actually have no appetite, but I don’t want to make her sad or worried, so when she feeds it to me, I try hard to drink it.

She seems to see my reluctance, and only feeds me two sips with reddened eyes, saying softly: “The doctor called last night and said there was a fire at your house and someone was taken away by ambulance. I thought the sky was falling…..” She pauses at this point, and I see her turn her head and rub the corners of her eyes. 

“Yesterday, your older brother and sister-in-law were still abroad. Fortunately, Mingyi came to pick me up. Thank goodness for Mingyi the day you fell unconscious.”

My throat is so sore that I can’t speak, so I try to reach out and hold her hand.

Her hands are still as soft and warm as they were when I was little.

She is stunned for a moment, then her expression softens and she touches my forehead with her other hand. “I don’t think your house is very auspicious. I’m thinking that when you’re discharged, you can come out and live somewhere, but it’s inconvenient for you to live with your brother and sister-in-law at home. I want you to buy a different house nearby.”

This time, it is my turn to be stunned. This statement makes me feel a little strange, but I’ve just woken up. My mind is unclear and I can’t think with clarity for a while.

Before I can think it through, Dr. Zhao comes forward to check on my condition and my older brother takes my mother to eat.

Dr. Zhao asks me some simple questions, and I am responsible for nodding or shaking my head. Then he prepares some medicine for me to take and asks the nurse to change me to a new IV.

The solution falls down drop by drop, and my arm feels cold. Before I fall asleep again, I see Mingyi.

She is standing beside me, looking down at me. Although she is a woman, the children in the Wen family are extremely tall. I even momentarily mistake her for Mingcheng.

I’m startled, but she just puts a hot water bottle next to my hand and covers my eyes with her palm.

I blink, feeling that this gesture is very similar to Mingcheng’s. This was the usual way Mingcheng comforted me to sleep. 

My vision goes dark and I fall asleep again.

I spend several days in the hospital like this. These few days are very peaceful. I haven’t lived such a peaceful life in a long time, without fear, anxiety, or self-doubt.

It’s like all I experienced in the past few days was a nightmare, and I’ve suddenly woken up from the dream.

The outside world is still lush and beautiful, and the people around me are chatting and laughing harmoniously. The world is calm and peaceful.

It’s as if that terrifying existence never appeared. Day or night, he never shows up.

I’m discharged from the hospital about a week later. I’ve burned down one floor of my house. Although property management has told me that the repairs are almost finished, I don’t want to go back at all, so I’m staying at my older brother’s house for the time being.

Although my heart is full of worry for Mingcheng, I really have no choice. This sort of matter is too separate from the reality of my life. I’m unable to sleep due to thinking about Mingcheng’s safety every night, but during the day, I can only be compelled to enjoy the peace of life.

I’ve received physical and mental therapy in a timely manner every day, and I feel much better. My life is so stable that I actually suspect it was all a dream.

Up until I find that my peaceful life is a bit strange.

More and more, I feel like it’s odd.

At last, I find the problem.

“Mom, there was a fire at my house. Why haven’t you asked about Mingcheng?”

At this time, my mom, sister-in-law, and I are preparing lunch. The two of them are talking and laughing. An entertainment show is playing on TV, and the atmosphere is cheerful.

Just after I finish saying this, their voices suddenly die away.

The TV is still making a lot of noise, but nobody in the house speaks.

I see them both turn their heads and look straight at me. This scene brings up unpleasant memories, and my heart suddenly tenses. “Mom…..Sister-in-law?”

My words seem to wake them up. My sister-in-law takes a paper towel to wipe her hands and calls to my mom. When my mom is called out, she opens her mouth as if she doesn’t know what to say for a moment. After a long while, she said hesitantly: “A-Zhen…..are you blaming us for not being concerned about Mingcheng?”

“How could I blame you? I just feel strange. In fact, I feel like there’s something wrong with him lately…..”

I feel that these things should be made known to my family members, because I am truly at a loss. I need others to believe in me so that I can get help.

But my mom is old, after all. I don’t dare tell her that Mingcheng has been replaced, so I tell her that I sense something wrong with him, as if he has become a different person.

I hope she thinks Mingcheng is possessed by an evil spirit, because my mom believes in Buddhism and has many friends in the circle. Maybe she will have some methods to deal with ghosts and evil spirits.

So I tell her what I can about the things going on at home.

But contrary to expectations, instead of believing that Mingcheng is possessed, she thinks I’m the one possessed.

“A-Zhen…..” She looks alarmed, and her eyes scan my face several times. Finally, she grabs my hand and says, “I’ll just say, your honeymoon to Southeast Asia was not auspicious at all, and your illness has gotten worse since you came back. Have you worn that pixiu that Mom got for you?”

I’m silent for a moment. “I wore it, but I accidentally broke it later.”

As for how it was broken, of course I dare not say.

But she turns pale with fright. “Master Wuye might be free in a couple of days. I’ll take you to see him.”

“Mom!” I was speechless. “I’m not possessed by an evil spirit, I’m telling you that Mingcheng is. Do you think Master Wuye can do something about it?”

“……You’re sure?”

I am very sure: “Yes.”

“If you have something to talk about, wait until after dinner. Mom, come over here and pick a piece of beef with me.”

My sister-in-law is an intellectual and advocates science. She probably doesn’t want to hear about someone being possessed, and calls my mom back to the kitchen.

While eating, I try to convince her. My mom listens and is indecisive for a moment: “A-Zhen, ah, before you went to the hospital, how long ago was it that you took the medicine Dr. Zhao gave you? How about Mom accompanies you…..”

“……”

I have no words!

“I’m not possessed, and I’m not sick either. Um…..what are you looking at me for? My illness isn’t serious.”

Under the eyes of my mom and sister-in-law, I ultimately change this sentence to: “I’ll go find Dr. Zhao after dinner, okay?”

Why don’t they believe me?

I’m really depressed, ah!

. . . . . . .

I feel a little disappointed that I didn’t get my mom’s acknowledgement. When I walk out of the room, I also hear my sister-in-law express her doubts about me: “Mom, Brother’s symptoms seem to be getting more serious…..”

They are my closest family members. I can’t help but get childishly angry when I fail to get their support, so I don’t want them to accompany me, and I go to see Dr. Zhao alone. Dr. Zhao is a professional. He will believe me.

“I don’t believe you.” He adjusts his glasses with a tired expression. He must have spent a lot of time taking care of me these days. “How long has it been since you’ve taken medicine?”

“I…..have a reason.” I try to explain it to him. After all, who can find out that their family member has been replaced and still take medicine and live peacefully?

But he doesn’t accept it, and raises his hand to interrupt me with a serious look in his eyes. “A-Zhen, you have also received higher education. Where do ghosts and monsters come from in this world? And did you know that I discovered you were having visual hallucinations in the hospital? Did you realize it yourself?”

I freeze in my seat. These words are like a bolt from the blue to me.

I’ve always thought I was close to recovery, and never expected that this would happen.

This state of affairs not only means that my illness is getting worse, but also that…..no one will believe me.

Even my mother and doctor don’t believe me. Nobody will ever believe me again!

“A-Zhen, did you really see all the things you spoke of?” 

“I did, it’s true!” 

I grab his hand, and my tone is extremely affirmative. I hope he believes me.

But he only looks at me for a moment, and then tells me a story.

Before Dr. Zhao was hired by Mingcheng as my exclusive doctor, he was the vice president of a well-known psychiatric hospital.

In the last period of time before he left his job, he took on a patient.

This patient was a very gentle woman. Her symptoms were very mild and her family didn’t think she was sick, so they didn’t want to get her treatment. They made a big fuss in the hospital and asked for her to be discharged to prepare for her pregnancy.

“But soon after she was discharged, a fire broke out in her home.” Dr. Zhao raises his eyelids and looks at me. The whites of his eyes are bloodshot, and there are shadows under them from fatigue. “This female patient burned down her home and claimed that she had strangled a monster to death.”

When I hear this, I feel my hair stand on end. Not because of horror at this patient, but because of what I associate with it.

“……So what was the truth?”

“The truth is that she was hallucinating. She thought her frail husband was a goat spirit, so she strangled him to death in order to get rid of the monster.”

I slump in the chair and don’t speak for a long time.

I think I understand why Dr. Zhao insists on coming to deliver medicine to me even after midnight. Even though I am the only patient he is taking care of, he seems to have aged several years in a short period of time.

Their doubts about me are well-founded.

And I……

Dr. Zhao gives me the medicine he prepared for me: “I’m telling you this to let you know that hallucinations are dire. You haven’t had any particular symptoms over the years. I’ve done various tests on you during the past few days when you were hospitalized and found nothing. It cannot be ruled out that the hallucinations are caused by something other than mental factors, but you still must take your medicine on time and keep your imagination from running wild. After three more days of observation, I will take you to get a brain CT scan.”

I don’t continue to insist. Raising my head, I drink the water he gives me and swallow the pills.

But I don’t listen to him honestly this time either.

I might really be ill, but I have my own reasoning and feel that I can trust myself.

He sends me back to the door of my older brother’s house. After saying goodbye to him, I don’t go inside. Instead, I turn around and take a taxi.

Finally, I arrive at someone’s home. The auntie is surprised to see me and says: “You haven’t been here in a long time.”

I force a smile and answer her with a nod. Sitting on the sofa, I wait for the person I want to see.

Previously, apart from facing Mingcheng, I never had any strange fantasies or saw strange things. If this was my mental illness, would it be so selective?

I believe in myself, even though no one else does.

The auntie pours me a glass of iced orange juice, but I don’t drink it even until the ice cubes melt. I finally meet the person I want to see.

At 5:30 in the afternoon, the door opens.

Mingyi is back.

---

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Chapter 15 << Table of Contents >> Chapter 17

Winter in Shanghai came late, but left early. Only a little bit of light snow fell in a month, and a thin layer accumulated on the ground. When looking over the whole city from a high place, the buildings and streets were enveloped in a layer of misty white.

It was a snowy morning and the sky was overcast, perfect for sleeping in. Mu Nanqiao closed his eyes and reached out to grab the person next to him, but found nothing. The lingering warmth on the bed was still there, but the person who should be sleeping under the quilt was not.

His sleepiness dissipated in an instant, and he sat up abruptly. When he looked up, he saw Lu Qi lying by the window.

Perhaps in order to keep the sun from shining in, he only opened a small gap in the curtains. As he looked out the window, his head was stuck through the gap while his body was still outside the curtain.

Mu Nanqiao breathed a sigh of relief. He lifted the quilt and got out of bed. Walking over the carpet on bare feet, he hugged Lu Qi’s waist from behind and lay his head on his shoulder, getting behind the curtains with him to look outside.

“It’s snowing.” Lu Qi rubbed his ear against the side of his face. “And it’s time for postgraduate examinations again!”

Mu Nanqiao kissed his ear, amused: “Baby, you’ve been lying here for so long and you just want to say this? Where is that art student romance?”

“Yes, yes…..” Lu Qi lay on the window and exhaled loudly. He grabbed a thin metal tassel on the edge of the curtain and swiftly drew a little stick figure with antlers on the condensation. The character, pew pew, fired love bullets at a fox-tailed character’s head.

Finally, he said earnestly and a bit stiffly: “Ялюблютебя.”^[1]

Mu Nanqiao was struck by the romance of an art student. He pressed him against the floor-to-ceiling window and kissed him over and over, rubbing against the two stick figures on the glass.

From this day on, Lu Qi began to prepare for the exam. He liked to sleep in, but once he decided to take action, he would never procrastinate. Sometimes he went on a morning jog with Mu Nanqiao, and sometimes he didn’t. Whether he went or not depended on how much exercise he did the night before. In any case, when eight o’clock arrived, while Mu Nanqiao was getting ready to work, Lu Qi sat in the study room and prepared to study.

It was worth mentioning that he occupied Boss Mu’s large mahogany desk, while Mu Nanqiao retreated to the small sofa in the corner.

Sometimes when Boss Mu got off work, Wife Xiao Lu was still practicing copying paintings.

On Friday, Boss Mu left early and returned home at noon. He also brought Lu Qi’s favorite seafood, but after walking around the room, his baby only looked at him three times.

Mu Nanqiao went to the cloakroom and looked in the mirror to confirm that there were no flaws on his naturally handsome face, and his figure was still as vigorous and strong as ever. After a moment of silence in front of the mirror, he went to the master bedroom and took a shower.

In fact, faced with the temptations of beauty and delicious food, Lu Qi had to concentrate a lot to keep himself sitting in the chair. He wanted to finish his afternoon practicing quickly, so he just randomly found some material. Just as he was about to start painting, there were two polite knocks on the door.

It was probably not Xiao Sanhua. Lu Qi found it a little strange that Mu Nanqiao would knock on the door, and raised his voice to call him in. 

The door opened, and Mu Nanqiao came in with a plate of fruit. The fruit plate looked like it had been carefully arranged, with different fruits stacked on top of each other in particularly beautiful colors.

However, compared to the “dressed up” fruits, Mu Nanqiao’s packaging was a bit “simple.” With his hair still dripping water, he was wrapped very casually in a black silk nightgown, the overlapping collars loose. The scenery of his chest was unobstructed, without any masculine virtue at all.

Lu Qi raised his hand to touch his nose and said in a quiet voice: “What are you doing?”

“Sending you fruit.” The vixen swaggered over and set the fruit plate to the side, coming around to see the material Lu Qi had selected.

It was a sculpture of an adult male. The sculpture was in a relaxed, leaning posture, with smooth and beautiful muscle lines. Although it was stone and lacked temperature, it burst with vitality from the hands of its creator.

It was a very good piece of work.

“You’re drawing this?” Mu Nanqiao raised his eyebrows.

“En, en.” Lu Qi nodded and introduced to Mu Nanqiao: “This is the work of one of my seniors, and it has won many awards. Isn’t it particularly impressive?”

From an artistic point of view, it was indeed impressive. Mu Nanqiao was not small-minded, so he nodded and praised sincerely, “It’s really amazing.”

He leaned closer, and the scent of shower gel on his body was warmed by his body temperature, lingering at the tip of Lu Qi’s nose. Lu Qi was hooked and wanted to get closer to smell it. He looked up at this person. Because he was leaning over, the loose collar could not cover anything, including the teeth marks on his collarbone that hadn’t faded away.

Lu Qi swallowed silently, then turned his head and sat up straight with his pen, saying with a very upright expression: “I’m going to start. You go out first……”

Mu Nanqiao sighed, feeling deeply that the scholars in Chinese stories who were easily seduced by foxes were all sanctimonious hypocrites. Look at this little painter in his family and how at ease he was.

When all of his twisting and turning was useless, Mu Nanqiao decided to hit a straight ball.

He directly hooked Lu Qi’s chin, tilted his head, and kissed him.

The fragrance of shower gel that was on his mind finally wrapped around Lu Qi. He blinked his eyes and sniffed greedily again, not understanding how the same shower gel could smell different when used by two different people. He had no idea that the big fox was also hiding a bottle of cologne in the bathroom. 

Mu Nanqiao was dissatisfied with Lu Qi’s distraction and lightly bit his lower lip. Lu Qi felt the pain, and then the teeth loosened. The big fox took advantage without any ceremony.

After a while, Mu Nanqiao let go of Lu Qi, who was breathing unsteadily. He stared at those red lips for a moment and then kissed them, reluctant to part. 

Lu Qi was dizzy. When he returned to his senses, he realized that his hands were on Mu Nanqiao’s chest. He pretended not to notice, and pressed it silently, taking advantage of his boyfriend. Unashamed, he asked in a low voice: “What are you doing tonight?”

“Детка, I want to talk to you…..” Mu Nanqiao turned Lu Qi’s chair, picked him up, and held him face-to-face on his lap. “I know you need to concentrate on your studies, so I’ve tried my best not to disturb you. But when I come back nowadays, you don’t even look at me. Isn’t that rude? Hm?”

As he spoke, he lightly weighed the person on his lap, and his fox-like eyes narrowed. He moved closer to the tip of Lu Qi’s nose and said in a low, lazy voice: “Or is it that……after you got me, Baby, you’ve played with my body enough and it’s no longer fresh?”

Dirty words! These were really dirty words!!

“What is all this, ah…..” The roots of Lu Qi’s ears turned red, and the heat spread to his cheeks. He defended himself in a low voice: “We did it the night before yesterday…..hey, if I thought you were stale, I wouldn’t have messed around with you.”

The already arrogant vixen remembered something, and lifted Lu Qi’s shorts to glance at his knees. The red marks from kneeling were already very faint. He rubbed them a couple more times and was so distressed that he forgot which drama he was performing and asked softly: “Does it still hurt?”

“It didn’t hurt in the first place.” Lu Qi thought for a moment, then whispered: “I ignored you when you first came back because one look at you makes me want to look at you again. Then how could I finish my exercises, ah? Isn’t this called beauty leading a person astray? So I had no choice but to stop looking.”

He muttered aggrievedly: “It took me a lot of perseverance to ignore you.”

Mu Nanqiao: ……

He wasn’t upset to begin with. This was just an excuse to tease his Xiao Lu. But who would have thought that after being teased, the little deer would jump into his arms? His mind was swept away, and he couldn’t help but hug him and kiss him again and again.

“You’re so clingy, ah…..” Lu Qi rested his chin on his broad shoulder, complaining half-truthfully. After saying that, he couldn’t help but laugh again, “Forget it, forget it. Who made me like you?”

“You like me so much?” Mu Nanqiao said: “Then should I be proud of your favor?”

Lu Qi wore a straight expression: “Don’t even think about taking out that box of 001’s. We agreed on only two per day!”

Mu Nanqiao: “……Baby, that’s not what I’m talking about.”

Lu Qi looked at him warily. “Then tell me, I’ll listen.”

Mu Nanqiao just said directly: “Stop drawing your senior’s little stone man. Draw me.”

Lu Qi: ……

Oh-ho! That was indeed a combination of beauty and practicing. He could have his cake and eat it too.

Recalling the dramatic first encounter between the two when he regarded Mu Nanqiao as a little duck out for sale, he had also said that he would let the other person act as a model for him. Little did he know at that time that his casual nonsense would come true.

Boss Mu was natural and poised. He casually pulled off his belt and sat himself on the small sofa opposite Lu Qi in a pose similar to that of the sculpture, with long legs stretched out and a leisurely attitude. But the icy, brash vitality in his body could not be compared to lifeless, faceless plaster.

“By the way, Boss.” The perfect model Mu Nanqiao smiled, raising his eyes as he asked, “How far should I take off my clothes? Can I leave my underwear on? Or….total nudity?”^[2]

These words were very familiar, reminding Lu Qi of the past when his toes curled into the floor. He glared fiercely at Mu Nanqiao and gave a harmless warning: “Don’t be a scoundrel!”

Mu Nanqiao lowered his face and smiled. In coordination, he touched his lips and then raised his wrist toward Lu Qi in an unrestrained manner, blowing an elegant and romantic kiss.

This was truly a vixen, ah…..

Lu Qi touched his nose again, fearing that he would suffer an embarrassing nose bleed.

. . . . . . . 

The evening seemed to pass much faster than usual, and the drawing was completed quickly. Lu Qi happily stretched and ran over to crouch beside Mu Nanqiao and squeeze his shoulders. Eager, round deer eyes looked at Mu Nanqiao, and Lu Qi said sincerely: “Thank you for your hard work, la~”

Mu Nanqiao moved his arms and gathered up his undone bathrobe again. He raised a hand to pinch his ear, saying with apparent selflessness: “It wasn’t hard work. Dedicating myself to art is what I should do.”

Lu Qi was very satisfied with his conscientious attitude. He happily ran downstairs to eat snacks, not noticing the man’s fox-like eyes that were smiling but not smiling, or the big fox tail behind him that could not be hidden.

Sure enough, the profiteer Mu Nanqiao came to collect the reward for being a model that evening.

In the cloakroom, as Lu Qi was weeping pitifully in front of the mirror, he had to listen to the big-tailed fox whisper nonsense in his ear.

“Good baby, open your eyes. This can be considered as dedicating yourself to art…..” When he finished speaking, he couldn’t help but give a low, breathy laugh, which was simply a lack of virtue.

Lu Qi could only let out a tremulous “Wu…..”

But an emoticon popped up in his mind.

[Kitten holding a knife.jpg]

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[1] Ялюблютебя = I love you. ⮐

[2] “Total nudity” is actually in English, which is hilarious when reading the raws. ⮐

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Chapter Fifty-Two << Table of Contents >> Chapter Fifty-Four

It is ten o’clock in the morning, and there is still no phone signal.

I’ve devised three plans to escape from this nightmare.

The first plan is to go through every room in this villa to try to find the Black Nanjia.

This plan is the most basic solution. I tried once last night, but unfortunately, time was too short and I failed.

And today, I plan to try again for two hours.

If I can’t find it within two hours, I’ll give up.

But when I get up, I feel dizzy and quickly grasp the stair railing for nearly a minute before my head clears.

Only now do I remember that I have not slept or eaten all night. My body has reached its limit.

Before everything begins, I need to eat something.

The refrigerator is full of food, but it is all fresh vegetables and meat. All I can make do with are a few pieces of hard butter bread and some fruit. I take out a package of bread and nimbly stuff it into my mouth, then swallow it with a glass of water.

I don’t have the heart to eat in earnest, and when I finish eating, I still don’t know what the food tasted like. But bread easily fills the stomach, and refined carbohydrates will easily turn into sugar and enter the bloodstream. Within a few minutes of eating this piece of bread, I feel like I have some strength.

I raise my head and drink the glass of water in one gulp, then leave the kitchen and begin to search the house.

Previously, I had limited time and could only check what I could see, along with some cabinet drawers. This time, I don’t miss a detail.

Behind and under tables, chairs, and appliances, in the corners behind the doors, inside hollow handicrafts, and even behind the paintings on the second floor.

In addition, there are six bed sets in this house, three of which have spaces beneath them. Because it is dark under the beds and the power is out in the house, I fear that I won’t check them thoroughly, so after scanning them with the naked eye, I find a broom and search under every bed. After that, I stand on a chair and check the top of every large item. In the end, I even inspect every vase and kettle.

But very regrettably, I find nothing.

Excessive anxiety causes me to suspect that the doll isn’t even in the house, but I don’t think the divine attendant would make up such a thing and lie to me.

Anyhow, I don’t have much of a choice.

So I find a small shovel in the kitchen and dig out all the soil in the big flower pots at home.

There is nothing in the soil either.

The house has no electricity. I’m able to find the remaining candles from the previous candlelight dinner, and after lighting them, I take one to check the third floor attic again.

The third floor attic is very large but very empty, and easy to inspect. I even look around the ceiling.

I’ve tried my best, but still achieved nothing.

The time soon reaches twelve noon.

I can only give up.

Plan one, failed.

As the morning passes, I go to the kitchen and take another piece of butter bread to stuff into my mouth. At this time, my mood becomes even lower.

My physical exhaustion has reached its limit. I feel dizzy and the kitchen spins before my eyes. The excessive mental fatigue makes me want to vomit. I have to take measures to save myself, but I’m really too tired.

After taking two bites of bread, I give up due to the strong urge to vomit. I look at the clock on the living room wall and intend to get up as soon as possible, but my consciousness gradually dies away…..

It’s like being in a coma. My whole body has sunk to the bottom of the sea. I am not in good health, and this short nap is a biological instinct to save myself after my body has reached its limit. I fall into a very deep sleep.

Until…..

“A-Zhen—” A familiar male voice shouts anxiously in my ear.

I’m not yet conscious when my body makes me open my eyes.

It’s that voice again!

Mingcheng!

I’m sure I heard it right this time. It’s Mingcheng!

I clutch my chest with a gasp, constantly looking around to find him, but just like last time, there is no one around me.

I just sit there slumped on the ground for a few minutes. All at once, I recall my surroundings and immediately look up at the clock in the living room.

1:20pm.

I actually slept – or passed out – for so long!

Without overthinking it, I stuff the bread I hadn’t finished before falling asleep into my mouth, try hard to get up from the floor, and walk toward the second floor.

My eyes are dry and sore due to fatigue and a bad headache. I rub them, but the soreness spreads from my eyes to my heart. Finally, I look back at the time and murmur something that only I can hear.

“Mingcheng, you’re trying to save me…..”

. . . . . . .

The first plan failed, so I must begin the second one.

This plan is simple.

There should be a lot of people outside during the day. As long as I can escape to the street outside, I don’t believe he would kidnap me in public.

Although human beings are vulnerable, in all the stories about monsters I have heard since I was a child, I’ve never heard of monsters that prey on people in public.

What’s more, I feel that he seems to be more restricted during the day.

The question is, how should I escape?

This house originally had two exits, the front door and a back door to the garden.

At this time, I don’t know if that thing that scares me is at the main entrance, and the back door is even more unfeasible. Back then, Mingcheng blocked the back door in order to make the garden more beautiful.

This means I have no way of escaping outside through the two doors.

So I climb up to the second floor.

The balcony on the second floor protrudes outward, and its outermost extension is in line with the wall of the backyard. If I can find a way to get down from the balcony on the second floor, I can reach the outside.

Without stopping, I tie the long-sleeved clothes at home together to make a rope. Once the rope is long enough, I tie one end to the foot of the bed inside and the other to my waist.

I will drop right outside the house in this way, then run to the guardhouse to find enough people.

When everything is ready, I walk to the window and open the curtains, preparing to open the window and escape quietly.

But just as I’m about to open the window, I take two steps back!

A pale, bony hand hangs from top to bottom in front of the window.

When I back away in horror, I see the other party raise a finger and knock proactively on the glass. Then I see a face slowly hang down from above. The light frames this person’s head. His features are exquisite, but his eyes are extremely dark, like a doll that has never opened its eyes.

His abyss-like eyes rotate in their sockets, and then he stares straight at me and curves his lips.

In a flash, I am absolutely horrified.

God, this is not what a living person would look like. Why did I turn a blind eye to him even though he has been frightening me for so long?

He is here, and I dare not stay long. I quickly close the curtains again and run to the first floor.

But on the stairs, I stop again.

A tall, lean man stands outside the floor-to-ceiling windows on the first floor.

At this time, the flowers and plants outside are luxuriant, and the hydrangeas are blooming in large clusters. Pink and white bougainvillea twine around the flower stands in lush clouds, like a paint bucket has been overturned, exaggerating the beauty of early summer. There are also several pots of succulents placed by the window, crisp, tender, and plump.

However, the “man” stands there in darkness, and the light seems to avoid him.

He is telling me that he will appear wherever I think of him.

He will guard me until day turns into night, and then he will enter the house and give me new nightmares.

Time is something that goes by quickly.

I have a third plan.

But I don’t want to do that.

If I hadn’t heard Mingcheng call me just now, I would choose the third option without hesitation, my last show of resistance as a human being.

But now I don’t want to. Mingcheng wants to save me. Whether that night or today at noon, I twice heard him call out to me at the most dangerous moment.

I believe this is because he wants to save me, and for me to live well.

Then I also can’t give up. I must save myself.

. . . . . . .

July 27th.

A fire breaks out in a high-end villa community of Nanshan, Yuhua City.

A house burns violently that evening.

Several firetrucks surround the house to rescue the person inside. People watch the fire fearfully and speculate about the fate of the house’s owner.

Indoors, a cabinet smashes against the wall, trapping me in a corner.

And before the cabinet falls, a burning chandelier is heading straight toward me. At the critical moment, the stable wardrobe standing next to me suddenly falls to shield me from this fatal injury.

Thick smoke chokes me. I can’t breathe. I cough, grinning at the “person” outside the window.

Not long ago, I poured varnish from my oil painting in the attic, lit a candle, and threw it in.

The thick smoke quickly escaped, and the fire alarm in the house blared.

He immediately began to put out the flames. I knew I couldn’t stop him, so I poured a bottle of orange peel oil over my body and pointed the lighter at myself.

Things inside are constantly being smashed against the walls. Without electricity, the TV turns on and off, on and off, before finally exploding. He is losing his temper.

But he has really given up putting out the fire.

It’s really funny that an evil spirit can actually be threatened by a human being.

The flames continue to spread, and they soon ignite the fireworks Mingcheng stored on the top floor. Explosions sound one after another, and gorgeous fireworks soar into the sky. In an instant, the entire city seems to be wrapped in fireworks.

Nestled in the corner, I see a rain of colors falling from the sky outside. Beautiful lights flicker across my body.

At this time, there should be many passers-by stopping to watch.

These fireworks were prepared for me by Mingcheng. They bloomed for me once when we married, and they are blooming for me again today.

Wen Mingcheng.

I don’t like fireworks, but yours amaze me every time.

Numerous rescue workers rush into my home.

The sound of an ambulance rings across the sky, and countless people gather around my house.

With fifteen minutes left before 5:25, I am carried out under a sky full of fireworks.

It is cloudy outside today, and it got dark very quickly, but the fireworks in bloom light up the sky as bright as daytime.

As I lay on a stretcher, the sky above me looks like my wedding day. A doctor puts a respirator on my mouth. I also see the young guard from last night. He is running after my stretcher, his young face filled with shock.

Before losing consciousness, I look in the direction of my home.

His figure appears at the door of the main room, looking at me from a distance.

I can’t see his expression clearly, but this time, I think I’ve won.

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Chapter 14 << Table of Contents >> Chapter 16

On the other side, Song Xingmu spent a lot of effort handling trouble, and told Yi Chuan to go back and bring Liu Zhenqing over. 

After Song Xingmu spoke, he stepped forward with a stern expression. However, Yi Chuan did not leave, and instead stepped forward with his head lowered. The person in front of him suddenly stopped, and Yi Chuan bumped into him.

“Aiyo, what are you doing?” Song Xingmu looked back at Yi Chuan in surprise and said with a smile: “Throwing yourself into my arms?”

Yi Chuan’s bronze skin looked a little pale. He ignored Song Xingmu’s teasing and just lowered his head, saying: “I’m sorry.”

Song Xingmu’s eyes flashed slightly, and he said: “After all these years, you still care about these words?”

“I don’t care.” Yi Chuan turned around and said, “I feel like I have dragged you down and become your weakness. How about…..I stay in the shadows in the future…..”

If Song Xingmu hadn’t taken action back then, there was no telling what the outcome would be for their whole family. They would always be despicable pirates, constantly taking tortuous paths. It was Song Xingmu who brought his family back. Yi Chuan initially thought he was repaying this kindness, but didn’t intend to cause trouble for Song Xingmu everywhere after coming back.

Song Xingmu nodded and said: “You are self-aware that you have become my weakness.”

Although he had said so, Yi Chuan still became angry when Song Xingmu said it so bluntly, and glared at him.

Then he saw Song Xingmu smile evilly and say: “However, I don’t like to hear such words. Don’t say them in the future, or I will spank you.”

This sentence instantly distorted the heavy heart of the reckless Yi Chuan. He remembered that when he was younger, this person always wanted to spank him in the name of him being a younger brother. Not only did he spank, but he also wanted to clutch and pinch, simply a complete pervert.

Yi Chuan glared fiercely at Song Xingmu, then turned and left.

After a while, Liu Zhenqing was taken over. Of course, Huo Fenglie followed secretly.

“How is it going?” Liu Zhenqing asked when he saw Song Xingmu looking fine.

“Song Jing was sent back to recover from his injuries. The others are stable. Let’s interrogate the three prisoners first.”

“The content of our interrogation cannot be allowed to get out.”

“Don’t worry, we will finish the interrogation in one go. Colluding with pirates is a capital crime, so it is not their turn to snitch.”

Although the two had not seen each other for many years, they still cooperated tacitly. When they came to the water prison, they first saw the evidence collected. They were all government account books and port records, and they soon came across some strange travel records. These, they took directly to confront the military officer and Wang Qi.

But both of them were stubborn and would not answer anything. However, they knew that Wang Qi was the weakest link, so he was held alone for interrogation. Taking advantage of his suspicion and fatigue, they directly tricked him.

“They all say that you were the mastermind, and they were following your orders. Also, all the transported items have been handed over. They are privately made weapons.” Song Xingmu directly deceived him and said, “According to the laws of the Great Zhou Dynasty, this is treason, and nine generations of your family must be killed. Is there anything else you want to explain?”

Sure enough, Wang Qi’s face paled after he said this, and his psychological defenses were immediately broken.

“It’s unfair, ah. This one…..this one really doesn’t know anything. He was just greedy for money and secretly used the Liu family’s river transport to smuggle goods. The entire process was our employer’s, this one had no idea what was being transported. How could it be weapons?”

Observing from the side, Liu Zhenqing suddenly felt that Wang Qi’s demeanor was wrong when he said that last sentence.

“If not weapons, then what was it? Did you see anything?” Liu Zhenqing asked.

As expected, Wang Qi trembled all over. “I…..I don’t know, I really don’t know. But in two years, there were a total of twenty-five shipments, and each one was different. How dare I look, ah?”

Song Xingmu smiled. “You didn’t dare to look, but you knew that they were different every time?”

Wang Qi immediately collapsed. He didn’t even have time to think of what he was saying due to the fear, and suddenly revealed a large flaw.

“This one…..”

“Speak. If you don’t speak, you will be the main culprit.”

Wang Qi was so frightened by Song Xingmu that he couldn’t endure any longer, and said: “Yes…..I peeked twice. One time there were silver taels, and the other time it was…..saltpeter.

“Saltpeter?” Song Xingmu’s expression changed. “Do you know what saltpeter is used for? How did you dare help people transport it overseas?”

“This one……of course this one knows that it is used to make gunpowder, but at that time, this one was already riding on the tiger’s back. If I didn’t do it, I would be silenced. There was nothing that could be done. Begging Captain Song to spare me…..to spare this one’s life.”

“Then do you know where they were transported to?” Song Xingmu asked.

“This one really doesn’t know. He only knows that according to the time the ship left and when it returned, it should…..not have been to another country.”

This meant that there were two possibilities. One was that it traveled by sea to another coastal county, which were all close in terms of distance, and the second was that it docked at an island in the sea.

The information was incomplete, so they could only continue to interrogate others. That military officer was always firm in saying that he only collected money to open access to the sea. But they all knew that this man was lying. In the face of death, he refused to reveal any information. Even when the same trick was used and the weapons and saltpeter were mentioned, he remained indifferent. It was unknown if this was because he was loyal or because he was more afraid of the person behind the scenes.

Song Xingmu was at a loss. He looked at Liu Zhenqing.

Liu Zhenqing could only break forward and grab the military officer’s wrist. He said: “I won’t talk nonsense with you. I actually know that you are a rebel. You want to join them in rebellion? You didn’t hesitate to plunge people into misery and suffering, and now you are going to die. Even if the rebellion succeeds, glory and wealth will not be yours. What are you after?”

At this time, the military officer smiled strangely: “I don’t know what you are talking about? I’m not after anything. My family members are all dead anyway, and I’m not afraid of death either. No need to waste time interrogating me. Just kill me.”

Liu Zhenqing stood up and said: “It doesn’t matter. In any case, I got my answer.”

The military officer was stunned, and looked at him.

Liu Zhenqing chuckled and said: “When talking about the rebels, your pulse was particularly fast, and not without reason. At least you proved that our guess was correct. Behind these transports are traitors who intend to rebel.”

The military officer’s expression changed. He wanted to quibble, but no one was willing to listen.

They walked out of the military leader’s water prison cell and went to the cell where the pirate was imprisoned.

Liu Zhenqing said suddenly: “He just said…..his family members are all dead, and he was very agitated. He’s not after anything, and just wants to help the rebels?”

“He should be seeking revenge,” Song Xingmu said at once. 

Liu Zhenqing’s eyes swept across Yi Chuan’s face. It would be a tragedy if the situation was the same as Yi Chuan’s.

“It is the strangest thing. Like Zhao Haicheng, he was born on a small island and his family were killed by pirates. Logically speaking, he can’t bear any grudge against Great Zhou,” Song Xingmu said.

“He is one of Zhao Haicheng’s people, so there is also a problem with Zhao Haicheng,” Liu Zhenqing said.

“It’s pretty obvious by now,” Song Xingmu said. “It’s just a pity that he is a navy officer.”

The three of them came to the pirate, who seemed to be indifferent. After all, a pirate like him would definitely die if he was caught, so no matter what they said, the pirate just sneered at them.

But Song Xingmu had more methods to deal with pirates. “If you don’t speak, tomorrow we will do our best to hunt down the nearby pirates and leave some alive to go back and report that you betrayed their sailing route.”

The pirate’s face instantly paled. If this was so, his family would certainly be treated as traitors by the pirates.

In the end, the pirate gave in and answered anything that was asked. He had been bribed to not attack the Liu family ships or land on nearby islands. Everything else didn’t matter.

Liu Zhenqing and Song Xingmu had already concluded in their hearts that it was an island!

“You followed,” Liu Zhenqing said, based on the overheard conversation that time.

“That’s right, I followed. I deliberately made excuses to harass and attack it, only to find that it had become a deserted island. It seemed like things had been transferred directly in a short period of time.”

With such caution, there must be no doubt that the rebels were hiding on an island.

But this was very strange, because the residents of the islands all had household registration records. People came to the islands to check them every year, and there had never been an accident. This was to prevent more traitors and pirates from sneaking onto the island. There were not many residents, and it was not as easy to hide as on land. Was it possible that they were bribed or negligent?

However, there were more than a hundred inhabited or uninhabited islands nearby. They were also worried about alerting the enemy and the island becoming deserted like what happened with the pirate. It was truly difficult to investigate.

It would be nice if the scope could be shortened. 

Song Xingmu and Liu Zhenqing looked at each other. Even if it was difficult, they had to investigate them one by one.

As they were thinking, there was a sudden noise outside.

Someone immediately rushed in.

Song Xingmu saw Zhao Haicheng in the lead and smiled, saying: “You gave me a fright. This move makes me think that Lieutenant General Zhao intends to rebel against me?”

Zhao Haicheng’s eyes flashed, and he saluted: “Captain, why did you kill those two suspects?”

“What?” Song Xingmu was stunned.

Zhao Haicheng said shortly: “People just broke in, perhaps to save them, and were killed along with the suspects. The bodies are still lying there now.” After saying this, he looked at Yi Chuan.

He clearly thought Yi Chuan had done it. After all, only Yi Chuan could come and go at such a fast speed here.

But they all knew it should be Huo Fenglie.

Song Xingmu said directly: “Oh, Yi Chuan reported it to me, and he didn’t kill those people. Perhaps their accomplices were afraid of us interrogating them and came to kill them in order to silence them. Yi Chuan could only do his best to save them, but accidentally dealt a cruel blow. This is also excusable. He was just apologizing to me.” After speaking, he looked at Yi Chuan.

Yi Chuan knelt down to apologize.

Before Zhao Haicheng could say anything, Song Xingmu said: “Forget it, the accomplice was probably a pirate anyway. He didn’t ask anything, and just killed them. Get up.”

Yi Chuan stood up again.

The two people performed in front of Zhao Haicheng.

Zhao Haicheng could only regard them coldly, and in the end, said that his actions were inappropriate and should be punished.

Song Xingmu thought for a moment and then said: “Then how about this. Yi Chuan, you go swimming in the sea for half a shichen, no matter if you drown or not.”

Yi Chuan immediately agreed, then turned around and left.

Zhao Haicheng suddenly became short of breath, and heard a soft laugh. It was very quiet, but he still heard it. Looking up, he saw a scene that did not belong here at all.

When he saw Zhao Haicheng looking over, Liu Zhenqing looked back. Stunned, Zhao Haicheng said: “It is not appropriate to bring others to the water prison.”

“Aiya, Lieutenant General Zhao doesn’t know. This is not ‘other people,’ but my wife. It is the first time he has come here, and he is scared and very clingy, and insists on not separating from me.” Smiling, Song Xingmu took the opportunity to monopolize others. “I hope Lieutenant General Zhao will be tolerant. A weak scholar like him would be in great danger if he were alone and encountered bad people. After all, anyone dares to break into our water prison now.”

Zhao Haicheng frowned slightly and said: “My subordinates will change the patrol methods and strengthen the defenses.”

“Okay, I believe Lieutenant General Zhao. By the way, that military officer must be your fellow countryman.”

“We come from the same island. I didn’t know he had gone astray.”

“Yes, Lieutenant General Zhao knows it was the wrong path, but the other person from the island did not. People are really different,” Song Xingmu mocked.

Zhao Haicheng nodded in agreement before retreating.

Liu Zhenqing was paying special attention before they left, and found that Zhao Haicheng was really looking at him.

This made Liu Zhenqing a little uneasy.

Then he went to check the bodies with Song Xingmu.

The people who came had no obvious signs of being pirates, so if they were not pirates, they were rebels.

Huo Fenglie descended at this time.

“Why didn’t you leave one alive?” Song Xingmu complained.

“I tried. They had poison in their mouths,” Huo Fenglie said.

“Were they here to save people or kill them?” Liu Zhenqing asked.

“To kill them,” Huo Fenglie replied.

This was not a place for chatting. The three of them returned to Song Xingmu’s small bamboo house. They thought things over again and again until Yi Chuan came back.

“Yo, you have good physical strength. Not out of breath this time?” Song Xingmu teased.

Yi Chuan ignored him, and Liu Zhenqing apologized: “Sorry for troubling you.” After saying this, he took the initiative to pour him tea.

Huo Fenglie, who was about to speak, was stunned for a moment as Liu Zhenqing replaced it.

Yi Chuan admired scholars and thought Liu Zhenqing was a talented one, so he had the best attitude toward him and waved his hand, saying: “I’m fine, I usually train like this.” As soon as he sat down, he gulped down the tea. As a result, he was still thirsty after drinking and moved to pour some himself. He moved too quickly and accidentally bumped Song Xingmu’s elbow, causing Song Xingmu’s teacup to spill.

Song Xingmu said speechlessly: “Slow down, no one is competing with you.” After saying that, he continued drinking.

Liu Zhenqing looked at Song Xingmu with a strange expression and said: “Your…..glove is wet. Don’t you need to take it off?”

Since when did Song Xingmu like wearing gloves so much? Just now, whether he was reading account books or torturing, his sleeves were rolled up and he never took off his glove. It made Liu Zhenqing feel strange.

Song Xingmu smiled and said: “It’s a cool look, isn’t it?”

Liu Zhenqing frowned.

“Your hand is injured?” Huo Fenglie asked. “Is it the tendons?”

Song Xingmu was taken aback, and recalled that he had used this hand to send a palm at Huo Fenglie before. A person who practiced martial arts could naturally sense it.

“En, I was injured.” 

“Let me see, you know I have medical skills,” Liu Zhenqing said at once.

Song Xingmu quickly hugged his hand. “You can’t. My muscles and veins were damaged, but if I let you take a look, I will be completely disabled. You think of yourself as Li Xingruo, ah. Don’t hurt me with your limited medical skills.”

“Let me see, I’m not unable to treat it.” Liu Zhenqing said aggrievedly, “And during this period of time, I helped Fenglie with acupuncture and other things. I did a great job. If you don’t believe me, ask him.”

“En.” Huo Fenglie could only think of the scene where he was being tortured. He begged to differ about his medical skills, but didn’t dare to say so either.

“How come Young Master Liu has the same medical skills as Prime Minister Liu?” Yi Chuan, who didn’t know Liu Zhenqing’s identity, was surprised.

“Cough, cough. We are relatives. I have learned the same things, and my medical skills are better than his,” Liu Zhenqing said deceitfully.

“Oh, then take a look at him,” Yi Chuan said forthrightly.

Song Xingmu pinched Yi Chuan’s ear and said: “If my hand is completely disabled, will you help me bathe, feed me, and undress me in the future?”

His words angered Yi Chuan, who said: “Don’t even think about it.”

The two people made a scene, and laughter filled the small courtyard. Liu Zhenqing, however, grew silent.

Huo Fenglie looked at him and then at Song Xingmu.

Song Xingmu also noticed how quiet Liu Zhenqing was and looked over with a slight frown: “Hey, let’s get down to business.”

“Show me your injury, and I will judge whether or not it is okay. If it can be treated, I will ask the miracle doctor to treat you,” Liu Zhenqing said calmly.

“Miracle doctor?! Can this be done? I heard that he doesn’t heal people easily. And nobody knows where he is living in seclusion now,” Yi Chuan was instantly excited upon hearing this.

Song Xingmu did not rejoice, and just looked at Liu Zhenqing.

“What? Is it hard to talk about?” Liu Zhenqing asked, “Isn’t it an old injury?”

Song Xingmu didn’t speak, but Yi Chuan actively cooperated: “Right, it has been a long time, almost nine years. Is it too late, ah?”

Song Xingmu turned to glance helplessly at Yi Chuan.

“Nine years?” Liu Zhenqing chewed these two words slowly.

Nine years ago. When he died.

With all this beating around the bush, he just didn’t want to let him see his injured hand. How could he not think about it?

His grace while dancing with the long and short swords was still before his eyes, but now he had given them to someone else and almost never took action.

“What did you do?” Liu Zhenqing asked as he removed Song Xingmu’s glove.

The hand that was originally slender and fair, with hidden strength, was now covered in crisscrossing raised veins from the fingers to the wrist. It looked hideous and terrifying, and the fingers would twitch and tremble from time to time.

---

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Chapter Eighty-Two << Table of Contents >> Chapter Eighty-Four

Dizzy…..

Lu Qi propped himself up on his elbows and sat up halfway, looking up at Mu Nanqiao where he was standing beside the bed.

“Ah…..” He blinked and rubbed his face with the back of his hand, smiling softly. “I’m a little dizzy, but I know the…..I know the process. I did my homework.”

“What homework did you do? Did you watch videos?” Mu Nanqiao was very dissatisfied. He knelt on the bed and leaned over to kiss him, asking as he did so: “Is this what a good baby should do?”

Lu Qi embraced him. He shook his head first, then nodded, and pa, smacked Mu Nanqiao on the back. “I’m an adult, I can watch them.”

“Okay…..” The distinct joints of his fingers undid his buttons as if unwrapping a gift. Mu Nanqiao lowered his face and asked with a smile, “Do I look good?”

There was a dim lamp turned on in the bedroom. The light fell on the straight bridge of his nose and cast shadows on his deep features. Light and dark played across his face, which looked like a sculptor’s proud work, and the small red mole at the end of his eye made his face suddenly come alive.

“Look good,” Lu Qi murmured, touching his eyelashes. His beautiful deer-like eyes were full of bright, unabashed love. “Mu Nanqiao, you’re really so good-looking……”

The big fox’s eyes narrowed dangerously. Pulling Lu Qi’s wrist down a little, he placed those soft fingertips on his slightly cool lips. Mu Nanqiao moved his lips and placed Lu Qi’s fingertips into his mouth, lightly rubbing his teeth.

His fingertips were wrapped in something hot, moist, and soft. Lu Qi’s heartbeat suddenly accelerated so violently that it gave him the illusion of his chest going numb.

Mu Nanqiao released his fingertips and leaned forward to kiss the side of his face, sliding gentle kisses along his jawline little by little. Unknowingly, Lu Qi was led by him to lay on the pillow.

His thinking was stagnant and erratic under the influence of alcohol, but his senses were sharpened. Lu Qi’s eyelids lowered half-mast, and under Mu Nanqiao’s ministrations, he hummed comfortably like a cat getting its belly rubbed.

Up to this point, these were all still areas of practice that he was familiar with. But today, Mu Nanqiao seemed to be particularly patient and restrained. Lu Qi was about to finish several times, but Mu Nanqiao didn’t let him, coaxing him in a low voice.

Lu Qi couldn’t help but cry. “Don’t…..don’t you know what to do next? Do you need me to teach you…..”

The big fox was excited enough to wag his tail.

Although Lu Qi was usually very frank and direct, Xiao Lu’s level of frankness after drinking had obviously increased by another degree, and could be called enthusiastic.

“Okay, ah…..” His voice was low and hoarse, with a doting smile. “Then you teach me.”

“First…..want that…..” Thinking of something, Lu Qi grabbed Mu Nanqiao’s randomly moving hand and said with reddened eyes: “I forgot to buy…..”

“I bought it.” Mu Nanqiao kissed the tip of his nose. “Baby, just tell me where you put the 8-pack you bought.”

What followed entered the blind spot in Lu Qi’s knowledge. It was a bit difficult at first. Lu Qi kicked out, and his ankle was caught again. Such was the discomfort that he immediately sobered up, hugging Mu Nanqiao’s neck and licking it softly, like a kitten that hadn’t been weaned.

Mu Nanqiao also didn’t feel comfortable, the veins on his forehead protruding. He continued to coax in a low voice and kiss him tenderly, and it took a long time before he could continue a little bit.

After a while, Lu Qi took a small breath and cried pitifully: “You said you wouldn’t…..again…..you lied to me!”

The big fox immersed in him just smiled. His curved eyes were full of love and satisfaction, and his sexiness made a person unable to take their eyes away.

This night, autumn in Shanghai was coming to an end, and there was frost on the window. The room was so hot that Lu Qi couldn’t breathe. Once the initial discomfort wore off, the excruciating drunkenness was like drinking another bottle of alcohol.

As he was drunk, a voice in his ear spoke a passionate and emotional “Деткa,” and the person being called felt like he was laying on a cloud, floating erratically with the wind.

Semi-consciously, Lu Qi clutched the pillow and thought that when he got up in the morning, he should see how many 001’s were left in the box. Would this seductive vixen use them all up…..?

Help, ah!

. . . . . . .

It was cloudy the next day, and some gray sunlight shone through the half-drawn curtains. This weather was particularly suitable for sleeping under a blanket. Lu Qi hugged the quilt and huddled up warily in a small ball. He was clearly awake, but wouldn’t open his eyes.

He heard a beeping sound against his forehead, and then a mechanical voice said: temperature is normal.

It should be that Mu Nanqiao was taking his temperature.

With difficulty, Lu Qi opened his eyes just a slit. Just as he saw Mu Nanqiao’s blurry form, his vision was blocked by a cool towel.

His sleepiness had dissipated a lot by now, and Lu Qi asked blankly: “What are you doing?”

When he opened his mouth, he was taken aback to find that his voice was hoarse.

Recalling some intermittent memories, Lu Qi felt his exposed ears outside the towel warm. He had cried out so embarrassingly last night that his voice was still hoarse today. It was fortunate that Mu Nanqiao had covered his eyes, otherwise he would want to sew himself into the quilt.

What free gift with the potatoes. Thinking back to it, he was so embarrassed that he tried to dig a hole into the bed with his toes.

He seemed to hear a chuckle, satiated and lazy, like a large predatory animal that had eaten and drank its fill.

Mu Nanqiao cleared his throat and turned the towel over again.

“Lu Baby, your eyes are swollen.” As he spoke, he wanted to laugh again, so he asked teasingly: “Детка, are you made of water? It seemed like there was no end to the flow last night.”

Then he added, making the matter worse by trying to cover it up: “I’m talking about the tears, of course.”

Lu Qi: ……

Someone come and take this vixen away! He was embarrassed to death, ah!

It was unknown if his shouts could be heard. Mu Nanqiao’s mobile phone rang, and he held Lu Qi’s towel in one hand while answering the phone with the other. Due to his closeness, Lu Qi could hear Talia’s beautiful Russian voice through the receiver.

Lu Qi understood a few sporadic words, and was so shocked that he floundered into a sitting position. This affected his waist and hamstrings, causing him to gasp in pain.

The towel fell onto the quilt, and a small ice pack fell out. Mu Nanqiao looked at him helplessly and placed the towel back in his hand, telling him to cover his eyes to reduce the swelling.

Lu Qi covered one eye and tried to open the other one wider, mouthing out: Is Auntie coming?

Mu Nanqiao nodded and said into the phone: “Mom, Xiao Lu is very well. You had better accompany Dad to rehab more often. Don’t go out of your way to come up, the floor is too high…..”

“There is an elevator, I’m not going to climb up,” Talia said in Chinese. “I brought some Russian handicrafts for Lu Baby, and I’ll take a look at his wound by the way. Why are you so busy?”

Mu Nanqiao: ……

“Oh…..” Talia came to a sudden realization and asked, “Is it a bad time?”

Mu Nanqiao looked as calm as if he was drinking soy milk for breakfast. “En, he’s tired from last night…..”

“It’s not a bad time!” Xiao Lu wanted to save face, and interrupted the words of this shameless fox. He leaned over to the receiver and said in a failed attempt to divert her attention, “Auntie, come on up!”

“Xiao Lu, I’ll come over another day.” Talia was all smiles. “There will be a men’s clothing release in two days. I’m going to the show, and I’ll get you two sets of clothes there. I won’t come up today.”

Mu Nanqiao didn’t forget to tell his mother: “When you go to look at male models, you’d better take Dad with you, otherwise he’ll make trouble for you when you come back.”

Talia haha’d a few times, told Mu Nanqiao to take care of Lu Qi, and then hung up the phone.

Lu Qi: ……

He felt that he had lost all face.

With a groan, he buried his face in the pillow and said in a muffled voice: “How much does a ticket to Mars cost? I can’t live on Earth anymore.”

Mu Nanqiao chuckled. He reached to pull him out, lowering his head to look into his eyes. They were still a little swollen, but much better. He touched Lu Qi’s thin eyelids and said in a low voice: “I love you. Isn’t it normal for us to do this kind of thing? Why are you so shy?”

Early in the morning, he heard his boyfriend’s casual confession. Lu Qi’s cheeks felt hot. He slowly sat up and hugged Mu Nanqiao, rubbing his cheek against the big fox’s excellent jawline.

“I love you too…..” Lu Qi whispered: “I know it’s normal, but I still feel a little embarrassed. Cough…..”

He leaned close to Mu Nanqiao’s ear, and like the buzz of a small mosquito, said: “Last night, I actually…..felt really good.”

“Don’t flirt with me so early in the morning.” Mu Nanqiao patted his butt. “Okay, let’s apply some medicine.”

Lu Qi let him go immediately and held his pants, shaking his head. “I’ll do it myself!”

Mu Nanqiao didn’t insist. He left the ointment and went out to make breakfast for Lu Qi.

As soon as he went out, Lu Qi held the small tube of ointment and rolled over. He reached for the small bedside drawer and found a small box, taking it out to count them.

There were three left.

He had to hide them.

. . . . . . .

After breakfast, Lu Qi reclined in bed to draw a customer commission with washed cherries in one hand. Mu Nanqiao was working from home today, and was holding a video conference in the study. His voice could be faintly heard speaking in English. Lu Qi quietly started a live broadcast, and within three minutes, the other person’s English paused and his Governor came online.

Lu Qi: ……

Boss Mu, if you slack off on the job and watch others draw dirty pictures, will your partners on the other side of the ocean know?

The whole morning passed like this. When Mu Nanqiao finished his work, Lu Qi was still live broadcasting. He pushed the door open and came in, leaning over to take a look. Then he bent down toward Lu Qi’s ear and asked, “Baby, what do you want to eat for lunch? Nothing spicy.”

Lu Qi thought for a moment and whispered: “Heat up the leftover beef brisket from yesterday, and then you can make whatever you like. I’m not picky about food.”

Mu Nanqiao kissed his dimple and said with a smile: “Okay, that’s my good baby.”

He had changed into a more formal shirt for the meeting, and had to change it before cooking. The house clothes he had taken off last night were placed on the chaise lounge covered in plush cushions next to the bed. Mu Nanqiao undid his buttons with one hand and took off his shirt with his back to Lu Qi.

Lu Qi bit into a cherry and looked up.

That back view with broad shoulders and a narrow waist was undoubtedly pleasing to the eye. It was just that the scratches on that tight back were very obvious.

Choking on half a cherry, Lu Qi blushed as he coughed.

“Why are you eating in such a hurry? Are you afraid I’ll snatch it?” Mu Nanqiao came over with his house clothes and patted his back. “How are you? Are you choking?”

“Cough…..I’m…..I’m fine…..” Lu Qi wiped away the moisture at the corners of his eyes from coughing. He whispered with evasive eyes: “You…..put some medicine on your back…..”

“Oh…..” Mu Nanqiao smiled meaningfully. “But I can’t reach my back. Please help me, Wife Xiao Lu.”

This should indeed be Lu Qi’s responsibility. Although there were only a few places where the skin was broken, Lu Qi still used a cotton swab dipped in iodine to carefully sterilize them. When he was about to finish, Lu Qi’s phone vibrated.

If the message was someone else’s, Lu Qi might have finished treating Mu Nanqiao’s wounds before replying, but the message was from his dad.

So Lu Qi held the cotton swab with one hand and checked the message with the other.

Lin Chunhe had sent a picture of Lu Fangshu.

The setting sun shined in through a window, enveloping the reading woman in warmth. She was sitting in a clinic room full of greenery, reading a book titled “Psychological Analysis of Homosexuality.”

There was peace on her face that Lu Qi had not seen in many years. It was unknown if she had seen Lin Chunhe’s “study notes,” but there was even a faint smile on her lips.

Lin Chunhe also sent a message: 

[Xiao Qi, come home at the end of the year and bring your boyfriend back with you.]

Come home…..

Bring Mu Nanqiao with him…..

At that moment, Lu Qi felt as if a jar of cream had been poured into his chest, sweetly and lightly filling him up.

Boss Mu was still unclothed, waiting for the medicine to be applied, but the person behind him was silent. He looked back with a strange expression and was hit by the deer rushing toward him. He lost his balance and fell onto the soft quilt with Lu Qi in his arms.

Before he could react, Lu Qi lowered his head and mwah, kissed him very loudly.

Mu Nanqiao laughed and pinched Lu Qi’s earlobe. “What made you so happy?”

Lu Qi’s eyes were curved and bright, full of sunlight, and he lowered his head to kiss him again.

“Your big gold bracelet…..” he said with a smile, “I’ve got it!”

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Chapter Fifty-One << Table of Contents >> Chapter Fifty-Three

“Is anyone there?”

“Is anyone there, ah? Mr. Wei? Mr. Wen?”

“Huh? The door is open? Ah! Ouch…..it’s so dark, ah…..”

The young guard accidentally bumps into something, and when he avoids it, he steps on some shards of glass and almost slips.

The interior structures of these houses are mostly the same, and the guards have received sufficient on-the-job training in advance, so they are relatively proficient at finding the indoor light switches.

There is a click, but no change in the room.

Is the light broken?

It is a dark and windy night, and the villa is filled with bottomless darkness. The owner of the villa had been laying in the attic asking for help, and the courtyard door has layers and layers of locks. In contrast, the house door is completely unlocked, there is broken glass on the ground, the lights aren’t working…..

This all looks unusual, and the young guard smells danger. His expression becomes serious as he looks around warily. He tries to call the captain and tell him to send more manpower, but finds that his mobile phone has lost signal.

He chooses the pager, but finds that this thing also doesn’t have a signal.

“Damn it!”

There is no telling what kind of danger lurks in the dark rooms. The young guard curses and turns on the high-power flashlight with a scowl.

In an instant, bright light pierces the darkness like a sword.

The interior on the first floor is quiet, but for some reason a glass bowl is broken at the door with water flowing everywhere. There is a quilt thrown on the sofa, all the drawers in the room have been thrown on the ground, and things are scattered in a mess.

“Holy shit, a home invasion?!”

The bold young man walks into the room with his baton and checks the first floor. Then he turns his eyes to the second floor and shouts loudly.

“I’m telling you — I have a one hundred thousand volt electric baton that can electrocute you! If you have any sense, release the owner immediately. Otherwise, I’ll teach you a lesson first and then call a bunch of people over!”

It is silent upstairs.

The guard shines his flashlight toward the second floor, and at that moment, the flashlight suddenly goes out.

The young guard stares at his flashlight in confusion, absolutely speechless. “Society is so messed up. How can the things provided by such a big company be worse than garbage?”

He throws the flashlight to the ground haphazardly and walks toward the second floor with the electric baton.

At this moment, a faint sound comes from the second floor.

When he walks up quickly, he finds that the second floor is even darker than the first floor. In desperation, he chooses to use his mobile phone for light.

The weak light of the mobile phone sweeps across the dark second floor corridor.

Exquisite oil paintings are hung in the corridor. This is a gallery. In addition to these Western oil paintings, there are also Eastern ink paintings. If someone was invited in by the owner during the day, this would be a feast of art, but now in the dark environment, the people in these paintings make the atmosphere a bit eerie.

The paintings look like ghosts waiting for an unsuspecting human.

The young man senses an unusual atmosphere in the air and suddenly begins to feel nervous. Standing on the stairs, he is a little afraid to go that way, but there is no signal on his mobile phone and his pager seems to be dead.

Then he discovers that the doors to these rooms are all open, so he boldly checks them one after another.

“Is anyone there?”

“Is there nobody here, ah?”

“Why is this house so big…..”

In fact, from the moment he entered this house, he’s had an anxious feeling in his heart that is hard to describe. It isn’t the sort of fear he would feel toward a heinous criminal, but a creepy feeling that is difficult to name.

He doesn’t understand why, but instinct causes him to look around warily, his hand holding the baton already wet with sweat.

Suddenly, a subtle sound comes from the room on his right.

“Who is it!”

The young man turns his head quickly with a gulp, regretting that he had walked in alone.

His sixth sense tells him that there is something wrong with this house!

It is as if something has been watching him ever since he came in.

How supernatural!

He shines his phone light around, but sees nothing.

Only the figures in the oil paintings on the wall with their differently-shaped eyes open, laughing or happy, sad or angry, and shocked or frightened.

He tentatively walks toward the room on the right with the electric baton in his hand already raised, ready to attack at any time.

Although his biological instincts scream at him to run away, he enters the room out of duty and conscience.

Swish.

A draft blows countless pieces of drawing paper at him, and the white papers whirl in the wind like a flock of frightened white doves.

When the wind stops, there is nothing.

“Huff, huff, huff, ha…..fuck, fuck, that scared me to death…..”

The young man breathes a sigh of relief, his body feeling a bit weak. He wipes his face and sits down on the floor to take a rest and contact the captain.

So he takes his phone out to examine its situation.

But it still has no signal, and still doesn’t work after restarting.

He clicks it randomly in anger, and can’t help scolding the company for taking so much money from the owners and giving them junk. In the end, he gives up.

After his eyes stay on the phone for a while, they are drawn to something else, and his gaze follows his instincts to slowly…..slowly……

Fall to his side.

Wait.

What…..is this?

It is so dark that it is difficult to see clearly. He rubs his eyes.

This is…..

A pair of legs??

There is somebody standing next to him!

Terrified, he immediately turns over and stood up, and a figure quickly passes by him.

There is actually a person!

Who is it? A criminal?

“Stop!” He runs after the figure and kicks open the room it had flashed into…..

. . . . . .

I don’t know where I am, or when I lost consciousness.

My body and soul seem to be bound.

It seems like someone is calling out to me, but I can’t understand.

But his noise revives my soul a little. I take a deep breath, open my mouth, and my body instinctively begins to gasp violently.

It’s as if I’m beginning to exist in this world again. The feeling in my limbs is starting to return.

All of my limbs hurt a lot. It isn’t a severe pain like something is broken, but soreness. I don’t know why, and can’t remember what I experienced.

I feel very uncomfortable inside and outside of my body.

Out of instinct, I put my hands on my stomach to relieve the discomfort, but can’t figure it out.

The noisy sound nearby slowly amplifies in my mind.

“Mr. Wei! Mr. Wei, how are you?”

It seems like someone is pinching me, and my upper lip hurts.

“It’s strange, you just ran away so fast, so why are you unconscious now?”

“Wake up! Are you still alive?”

He lays me flat on the ground again and presses hard on my heart to perform CPR on me. Now my chest hurts too.

I didn’t die, but I was tormented.

And I finally awake from the torment.

When I wake up, I’m lying on the floor in my favorite pajamas, and the person holding me up is an unfamiliar young man. He looks around nineteen or twenty years old, and his face is still very immature.

If I were clear-headed, I would immediately recognize the guard uniform he is wearing, and that he should be a patrolling guard here. But my mind is numb, so I just lay there and stare at him blankly.

When he sees that I’m awake, he also stares at me blankly.

“You…..” In the darkness, I see him scratching his head in embarrassment. His young face seems to turn a little red. “Is your family not here? Let me take you to the hospital, are you hurt anywhere? Someone said they saw you asking for help. Mr. Wei, what’s wrong with you?”

It’s like I’m a half-dead plant, and as his series of concerned inquiries swirl around in my mind, I can only understand the sentence “take you to the hospital.”

Take me away?

As if suddenly coming to life, I grab his hand and beg him: “Take me out…..”

When I open my mouth, I realize that my voice is very weak and hoarse.

“Okay.” The young man helps me up and half-carries me out.

At this time, a gust of wind blows by. I don’t dare to think about what it was, but my body begins to tremble in a familiar way.

Realizing that I’m shivering, the young man asks conscientiously: “Are you cold? Mr. Wei.”

He puts me on the floor and walks toward the door without waiting for me to stop him. “There seemed to be clothes in the next room. I’ll get some for you. Don’t run around, your house seems to have been robbed.”

Having said this, he walks out. I try to stop him, but his steps are too fast. I put my hands on the floor and stare at his back, intending to wait for him to return.

But the moment he walks out the door, I suddenly see a tall black figure appear next to him.

The figure slowly takes a step forward. His skin is cold and white, his features deep, his lips raised without a smile. However, such a handsome face is expressionless at the moment, looking down at the young man beside him with his gaze lowered condescendingly, his crow-black eyes the same color as the darkness.

Then he smiles at me, opening and closing his lips in silent words.

“I hate him.”

His figure disappears in the next second, and a huge oil painting suddenly falls from the air like the sharp blade of a guillotine.

When he hears the noise, the unknowing young man subconsciously looks up.

And right above his face, an oil painting weighing several dozen kilograms is about to hit his head.

“Ah—-”

“Stop!!”

. . . . . . . 

At the last second, I bend over the young man’s body.

The oil painting misses us strangely and hits the ground, its frame shattering instantly as it makes a huge crater in the marble floor. The loud noise practically shatters my eardrums.

The young guard is stunned and can’t rise from the floor for a long moment. “…..Was a screw loose?”

He is truly a newborn calf who is not afraid of tigers. He only freezes for a moment before he helps me up, panting in shock. “This house is dangerous. Let me take you to the hospital first.”

After speaking, he prods his phone again.

“Why is there no phone signal in this place, ah?! So supernatural…..”

The last sentence stimulates me, and I push him away with all my strength. “Go, leave me alone.”

“How can I do that?!” He doesn’t understand, and stubbornly intends to take me to the hospital.

I am touched by his kindness, but this is not something I can decide. So I push him away hard, suppress the sadness in my heart, and turn around to refuse firmly: “You go away, I don’t need your help!”

He is a little confused when he sees me suddenly turn my back on him. “Why?”

Because if you stay any longer, you will die.

I have no way to tell him this. In desperation, I can only say to him in the most serious tone I have ever used throughout years of classes: “I don’t need your help. Please leave quickly, or I will call the police.”

Students will smile playfully at me most of the time, but are sometimes afraid of my serious appearance.

He is several years younger than my students, and is clearly dumbfounded.

“Mr. Wei…..”

“Leave!”

Seemingly hurt, the young man turns around and walks away.

Before leaving, he says to me: “I hope you’re okay, but I’m still going to come back.”

“Don’t ever come back,” I say.

I’m sorry.

After witnessing his ferocity and unblinking killing intent, I know that relying on others to enter the house and take me away is a very dangerous and harmful thing.

I must escape on my own.

After the man leaves, soft footsteps ring out and stop beside me…..

I don’t know how long it took, but it is dawn.

When the sunlight comes in, I still maintain my curled-up position, body and mind having become numb through a self-protection mechanism.

I just experienced the most terrifying and tormenting night of my life.

It is like part of my soul has been taken away. My mind is confused, my head muddled, and I can’t even remember what I just experienced. But from start to finish, I grit my teeth and remember one important thing, because it gives me a new hope.

At seven o’clock in the morning, the first rays of sunlight rise.

My husband’s impersonator abruptly stands, gives me a deep look, and then moves backward step by step.

Then he turns around and walks downstairs as if he can’t control himself.

I notice that something is wrong with him. He doesn’t seem to be moving of his own free will.

I realize something and use all of my strength to get up and follow him down. Then I see him walk outside and close the door with his own hands.

The moment the door closes, I see his bottomless eyes, filled with gloom and anger.

I fear that this is one of his methods of playing with me, so I sit in the corner of the stairway and watch him closely.

Hour after hour passes, and neither of us speak through the door.

Then my brain starts working and I recall our days together.

No matter what we went through during the night, whether it was pleasant or a quarrel, I wouldn’t see him the next day. When I thought he was Mingcheng, I thought this was an indication of him working seriously. 

But if not…..

Perhaps…..I think that perhaps I’ve found another constraint for him in this world.

Or a rule that must be followed.

. . . . . . .

July 27th.

I am home alone, planning my escape.

My husband has gone to work, but I know he actually hasn’t.

He is outside the door looking through the peephole at me, watching me all day long.

At 5:25 in the afternoon, he will open the door and enter the house.

I must escape.

Because he is not my husband. He is an imposter, and not only is he pretending to be my husband, but he is not a human being.

Now, I have three plans…..

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Chapter 13 << Table of Contents >> Chapter 15

‘Desolate Girl and Saka’ was created in 1725, in a Western country that had been ravaged by war and the Black Death. The pinnacle of human suffering was the pinnacle of human creation. The theme of this painting was evil and obscenity. The ugly and lustful demon Saka encountered a girl playing by a tree and intended to take her away by force.

The girl struggled desperately with a fearful face. Her golden hair was messy, her limbs were plump, and her skin was soft and filled with vitality in contrast to the dark and ferocious demon. The painting was gruesome and eerie, full of a paradoxical and despairing medieval atmosphere.

This had always been a famous painting because of the beautiful human body and the excellent modeling of light and shadow. When I studied oil painting in Russia and graduated, I copied this painting under the guidance of my teacher.

The painting won me a prestigious award that year, so I brought it back and hung it in the gallery on the second floor.

The lights in the villa were turned off at some point, and darkness now completely envelopes the house.

When studying this painting, although I understood the despair of the artist who created it on his deathbed, what I valued was the artist’s technique, the same as the other students. It is only now that I truly empathize with the girl in the painting, feeling firsthand her despair and pain, as well as that of the creator.

“Ah…..ugh!” I fall down the staircase in a state of disarray. Regardless of the severe pain in my body, I struggle to get up and escape downstairs. I see this painting when I pass through the hallway on the second floor, and tears flow uncontrollably from my eyes.

I had copied and painted the girl’s frightened and desperate expression, and at this moment, we are in the same darkness. My expression is probably exactly the same as hers. I am like a cornered lamb, pleading helplessly: “Help me…..s-save me…..”

I don’t know how I struggled out of his arms. It’s possible that he let me go in a playful way, enjoying the sight of me escaping in embarrassment.

But I have to run. I don’t even know if he is right next to me, watching my miserable appearance with a smile.

The light in the rooms is completely gone, as if it has fallen into a ball of ink. I hold onto the hallway handrail and go downstairs as fast as I could, hoping to escape from the house.

But just when I’m on the last flight of stairs, due to the lack of vision, I fall down again.

I instinctively hold my head, expecting to endure the coming agony, but this time I don’t fall to the floor.

“A-Zhen…..”

I fall into a cold embrace.

Someone calls to me in my ear, as soft as a sigh.

It turns out that he really was next to me all along.

I’m stunned for a few seconds, and then give him a hard shove.

What I don’t expect is that I actually push him. In the darkness, I see his body falling down the stairs. The sounds of a human body impacting the stairs are heard one after another, and I even hear a cry of pain. 

The world goes silent after the last thud.

I gasp violently. Opening my eyes as wide as possible, I stare blankly at the darkness below.

Nearly half a minute passes without any sounds from downstairs. The only thing in my ears is my own chaotic breathing.

Is he…..dead?

Can ghosts die so easily?

Is he waiting for me at the bottom of the stairs? Waiting for me to fall into a trap?

I can’t help but recall that when I pushed him just now, the body that my hands touched was as warm as a human being. Even through the shirt, I could still feel the sensation of flesh that only a human could have.

Reason tells me that I should flee quickly at this time, but as a human being, I begin to doubt myself emotionally…..in my mind, I begin to imagine my lover Mingcheng falling down the stairs.

No! I immediately dismiss my doubts.

He is not Mingcheng!

I emphasize this to myself before the heartache can arrive.

He is not Mingcheng, he is the demon that has taken over Mingcheng’s body. This is a trap! This is a bad joke!

I turn around resolutely and run upstairs. There are only my own footsteps in the empty hallway. Running quickly in the darkness, I find an inconspicuous room to hide in.

The mobile phone signal is very chaotic. I don’t know what time it is now, how long it will take until dawn, or even if all of this will turn around after dawn.

I don’t know if the gentleman opposite saw my plea for help. I hope he called the police. Although I don’t know if calling the police will be useful, I don’t have any other options.

In this state, I have no concept of time and don’t know how many minutes, seconds, or hours have passed.

But nobody comes to find me. The imposter I pushed down doesn’t appear by my side again.

I hide in the corner of the closet until my legs are numb. A long time passes, and there is no sound of anyone else in this villa other than me.

Have I escaped successfully?

Or…..is he dead?

Can it really be that easy for him to die?

After the violent fluctuations of emotions and panic, my mind becomes dull and blank.

What in the world went on tonight?

The demon took off his disguise.

Or is this a mentally ill person’s…..self-fashioned nightmare?

After briefly feeling safe, I begin to doubt myself again in this boundless darkness and soundless silence.

I try to control my thinking and tell myself that what I saw was real, but whether it is due to human nature or my own mental illness, I find that I can’t control my random thoughts.

I keep rubbing my hands, trying to avoid the skin where I had pushed him down the stairs. I feel the sensation, but that cry of pain keeps drilling into my brain, torturing my already fragile nerves.

I stealthily open the closet door a bit, and unexpectedly find that the room is not as dark as I had imagined. Bright moonlight filters through the window, shining off-white onto the floor.

The moon is still in the center of the sky at this time. It should be midnight.

Time really has passed.

The moon passes little by little under my sight, and so does time.

In the end, my chaotic and tangled spirit takes over my brain.

I come out of the closet.

The painting of the girl and the demon is still hanging in the gallery on the second floor. I walk forward, holding onto the wall. This house is really too big. I only now feel that such a big house is not suitable for two newlyweds to live in.

I walk in this long hallway for what seems like eternity, and finally stand at the stairs on the second floor again.

“Mingcheng…..”

I seem to be talking to myself, using the softest tone, but I unexpectedly discover that the darkness that can’t be penetrated by the moonlight actually conveys my voice very well.

This small sound echoes faintly through the house.

Until the sound completely dissipates.

No one responds to me.

I press my fingers so hard on the staircase that my fingertips hurt. “Is anyone there…..”

“Mingcheng…..”

“Sure enough.” Someone chuckles in my ear. “You really care about me.”

I turn around in horror, and immediately afterwards, the “person” forcefully turns my face and kisses the side of it. Before I can regret my actions, the person next to me disappears again.

Then I exhaust all of my strength to resist as I am held by my feet and dragged into the darkness…..

. . . . . .

One o’clock at night.

In the guard room of the Nanshan Villa area, a very young guard has just clocked in for the night shift. He puts on his work clothes and secretly pours hot milk tea into the water container hanging on his hip.

After everything is ready, he takes his baton and flashlight and prepares to join his work colleagues. At this moment, somebody knocks on the door of the guard room.

The young guard opens the door to find a middle-aged man.

The man is wearing pajamas and seems to have climbed out of bed, his hair messed up into a chicken coop. He is smoking a cigarette, and looks hesitant: “Um…..before I went to sleep, I seemed to have seen my neighbor asking me for help.”

The guard wears a respectful look: “Please make it clear.”

The man scratches his head and says: “I’m not sure if he was asking for help. He was lying in the attic window and waving to me. I thought he was cleaning at the time, but the more I thought about it, the more strange it seemed. How could anyone be cleaning in the middle of the night? Also, nobody answered when I called him, and there are several locks on his courtyard door…..

This is indeed very off. After the young guard asks him to leave, he tries calling the owner of building 127.

“The other party has no signal.”

No signal?

He confirms that Mr. Wen, the owner of building 127, has paid the property fees for one year at the beginning of the year, and that there is no possibility that service is not being provided to the property, then calls again.

“The other party has no signal.”

This is really not right!

“Hello? Captain, it’s me, Xiao Nan. I won’t be on duty for the moment, one of the owners seems to have encountered some difficulties. Yes, yes, I’ll take a look…..”

At 1:15 in the morning, there are no lights on in Villa 127. The people inside seem to be completely asleep.

The young guard checks the locks on the courtyard door that is locked from the inside, and after much hesitation, climbs over the wall and enteres the courtyard.

“Chirp, chirp, chirp!”

The sudden chirping of a bird startles him.

Looking over, he sees a little white bird. It chirps at him, probably complaining that he has disrupted its sleep.

Everything looks cozy and peaceful.

The guard doesn’t dare to relax his vigilance. He holds his baton tightly and walks to the main door, pressing the doorbell.

Ding-dong.

“Is anyone there? I’m a patrol guard……”

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Chapter 12 << Table of Contents >> Chapter 14